


Red Dead Redemption (An Untold Story)

by MisRedLotus



Category: Red Dead Redemption
Genre: Alcohol, Anger, Angry Sex, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Porn, Bathing/Washing, Bathroom Sex, Character Death, Confusion, Dark, Emotional, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional Porn, Emotional Sex, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, First Love, Fluff and Angst, Foreplay, Friends to Lovers, Gangs, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, I Love You, I'm Going to Hell, I'm Sorry, Jealous Arthur, Kinky, Lost Love, Love, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, Love/Hate, Lust, Memories, Mental Anguish, Mental Instability, Mud, Multi, Multiple Pairings, Outdoor Sex, Pain, Past Rape/Non-con, Please Don't Hate Me, Plot, Plot Twists, Porn, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Protectiveness, Rain, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Read, Revenge, Rough Body Play, Rough Sex, Roughness, Sad, Sad Ending, Semi-Public Sex, Sex, Shameless Smut, Silly, Slow Burn, Smut, So Wrong It's Right, Spoilers, Story within a Story, Strong Female Characters, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, To Read, Unrequited Love, Unrequited Lust, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Why Did I Write This?, Worth Re-Reading
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2019-10-04 09:21:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 144,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17302007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisRedLotus/pseuds/MisRedLotus
Summary: "Amidst the snow valley came a weary traveler.No...an old friend. Haven't seen her in a while. Not since her and her sister ran with us.Her name is Rose Reeds.And she's almost as angry as I am."





	1. Colter

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to put all the stories in one place instead of having 7 parts. <3 <3 <3 So if you've wondered where they went, they're here.

The wintery air filled into Rose’s lungs as she sat on her horse and travelled along the barren valley. Snow blowing in from every damn direction as she tried to make her way through. It had been a long while since everything happened.  At least 2 years since Colm O’Driscoll shot down her sister in cold blood and had been after him ever since. But she had lost track of him, unsure of where he was or where he went. The winter air stung against her skin, if she didn’t find shelter soon, the cold would kill her before any man or bullet could. Her hand went down and pat against the mane of her horse, “There, there—Lily. Keep on going girl—“

The winds blew the snow across the lands, making it impossible to see. Her body turned almost ridged, her fingers frozen as she gripped tightly onto the reins. The tears that slid down her face, froze to her skin. Death was knocking at her door and it was begging to come in. Even Lily wasn’t handling the snow anymore than she was and every time she breathed, it felt like ice had formed in her lungs. That couldn’t be good... However in the distance, there was a faint outline of what looked like some buildings and Rose wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating or not. Her eyes felt heavy, slowly making their way forward, until exhaustion and sleep came over her.  Whether she would wake up, would be a different story.

By some miracle she did wake up, wrapped up in some blankets. The sound of the wind echoed against the building she was in. Her eyes strained to look around, there was still a chill through her bones, but definitely a lot warmer than she was. The door slammed open as someone walked in, she couldn’t tell who it was till they came up close to the bed. Her eyes finally adjusted when the sight of Dutch came into view.

“Dutch—“ she coughed feeling the pain in her chest, “is that you?“

“Rose—dear lord--” He knelt down beside the bed and wrapped his arms tightly around her, his hand resting against the back of her head, “What are you doing out here in the middle of this goddamn storm?”

She smiled and laughed, though it caused a deep pain her chest, “Been travelling is all.” She knew Dutch wouldn’t believe that crap. But went with it anyways. She had known Dutch for the longest time. Took her and Agatha in when it was just Hosea, Dutch and Arthur at the time. The door opened once again, and a huge smile formed on Rose’s face, “Well, well, Arthur Morgan. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

Arthur walked over near the bed and leaned up against the wall, lighting up a cigarette, “If that’s what you wanna call it.”

“Still making friends I see.” Dutch looked over to Arthur and shook his head, “My lord. Rose! I didn’t think I’d-- ever see you again.”

“Me too, Dutch,” she smiled for a moment, before it left her face. Rose laid her hand on Dutch’s arm, “Can you give us a minute?”

“Sure.” Dutch stood up and walked over to the door, leaving the two of them in peace.

Rose patted her hand on the bed, “I ain’t gonna bite, Arthur.” She smirked as he walked over, the smoke hung from his lips as he spoke.

“Why is it when I finally get rid of you, that you somehow make your way back?”

“Oh my, that’s no way to talk to a lady.”

He smirked, his eyes edged as he looked at her, “You ain’t no lady.”

Her fingers plucked the cigarette from him, her lips wrapping around the tip, inhaling deep before handing it back over to him, “Thanks for that.”

He placed the smoke back into his mouth, “What you doin’ here?”

“If I didn’t know any better, I'd think you’re still bitter about me leaving you all alone and naked in that Motel bed.” She bit her bottom lip wanting to hide a smile.

He laughed deep in his throat, he was still handsome as ever and even had a beard going on, “as I recall, you stole my smokes, most of my money and my clothes.”

“That’s not true. I left you some clothes. What kind of woman do you think I am?”

“You left my hat.” He coughed for a moment, “correction, you left _only_  my hat.” 

Her laugh echoed in the small cabin, “Was your favourite. Couldn’t take that from ya.”

“But you had to take my clothes,” He took a puff of his smoke and shook his head, “Just causing trouble everywhere you go.”

“You wouldn’t like me, if I didn’t.” Her fingers reached out and touched his face lightly, which at first the intrusion was not wanted. But after a few seconds, he relaxed. “You don’t grow old, Arthur. Just more handsome.”

“Well, shit. You here to flatter me or is there a real reason you’re all the way out here?”

“Always cuttin’ to the chase, huh?” her eyes watched his, admiring him, “I’m looking for someone. And I reckon you’re looking for him too.” Her fingers ran from his bearded face down to his exposed neck.

The touching was lighting a fire in him, however he needed to stay on track, “Colm O’Driscoll?”

“That’d be him. See, he’s gotta date with a bullet and I need to make sure they meet up.”

She had somehow moved closer to him, not that he noticed though, “What he do to piss you off?”

Her eyes looked away from his for a moment, it had been 2 years. And though she had made peace with grief, she hadn’t made peace with the little shit that shot her, “Colm was supposed to marry my sister. Instead of being a man and disappearing like most of ya do. He put a bullet in her, said he had to make a point.” Some tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away, “So I’d like to return the favour.” Arthur handed over the cigarette to her as she took another huge puff, “So I ain’t goin’ anywhere until I put a bullet in Colm’s head. Or I watch him hang.”

“Yeah well, that’s makes more than the two of us.”

She was a few inches away from his lips, he threw down the smoke and pressed his boot on it, dowsing its light. His eyes watched hers for a few moments, contemplating whether or not it would be a good idea to delve into her again. He had a weakness for her, she wasn’t some Skirt that hung around in a bar, she could handle herself in a goddamn gun fight. Her hands slipped around his face, cupping it between her hands, her breathing starting off light before she moved from underneath the blankets and straddled his hips. His hands went to her legs, realizing she didn’t have anything on, only her blouse which was opened slightly, exposing her chest.

“What’s the matter, Arthur?” her skin felt hot under his palms, “haven’t you missed me?”

He groaned in his chest, pulling her closer, “tempting me, are ya?”

She laughed softly and pulled off his hat, “I don’t see you runnin’ Arthur.” He pulled her hard against his lips, causing a moan to sound from the both of them. She wasn’t sure how long it had been for Arthur, but it had been a long while for Rose. She loved him, though she didn’t need to say it at the moment. Revenge had been hot at her door for the last two years that, she didn’t have time for that. For love. And when she felt it with Arthur, she couldn’t be bothered to say anything. Not yet. He lifted her up and placed her back down onto the bed. As he slipped off his jacket and whatever layers he had on, onto the chair, finally down to his shirt and pants, Rose reached over and pulled him down, between her legs, her hands running down to unbuckle his pants, “Gonna show me a good time?”

He hummed and smirked, bending down to press his lips against her neck, “When have I not?” His lips worked at her skin, causing moans and whimpers to sound from her. He abruptly stopped looking down at her, “Hold on—“ 

“Arthur?”

He cleared his throat looking down at her, his cock straining hard against his pants. Trying to ignore it for a few seconds as he spoke, “You ain’t plannin’ on stealing my shit again and buggerin’ off, are ya?”

She shook her head, trying not to laugh. Trying to keep her composure, but had a huge grin on her face, “Really made an impression on ya.” She yanked hard on his belt, “Now c’mere—“

 

In the morning, her skin felt warm, well, everything felt warm, but when she woke, she was alone. Though it bothered her a small bit, a smile played along her face realizing he wanted to repay the favour. She grabbed onto her blouse and pants, slipping them back on, before she started on the layers of clothing to stay warm, placing her gun in the holster before walking out of the cabin. It was still windy out, but the snow had died down. She could hear the sound of a few men roaring with laughter and also arguing. She walked over to the cabin and flung open the door, a few of the men staring at her.

“Wantin’ to freeze the lot of us? Shut the damn door—“

Rose looked to Bill and slammed the door, “It ain’t exactly a tropical paradise in here.”

“So you’re the little number that Lenny found last night.” Micah, grinned and took a swig of some whiskey before handing it over to Bill.

“Easy now, boys.” Arthur looked at the lot of them.

“Well aren’t you fellas a pleasant bunch.” Her eyes went over to Arthur’s as he lit up a smoke. The wood creaked as she walked over to him and grabbed it from him, “Thanks again.” She winked and walked out the cabin with it. A few of the men once again roared with laughter, but not before Arthur came flying out as he grabbed onto her arm and pulled her back.

“Gonna be making a habit of stealing my things?”

“Aw, give a girl a break.” She smiled and walked over to her horse, giving it a good pat and some food. When she turned, Arthur was up close and personal, “Is there something I can help you with? ‘Cause I thought I already did that last night.”

“You’re just all sorts of trouble.” He grabbed the smoke from her hand, “Where do you think you’re runnin’ off too?”

“Gonna go find me some O’Driscoll boys. Reckon Colm will be with ‘em. Who am I kidding...he’s never not with ‘em.” Her eyes watched his, “Why, think Dutch will figure something out before I do?”

“If you just wait—“

Her hands grabbed onto his jacket and pulled him nice and close, her lips brushing lightly against his, the smell of tobacco lingering between them, “Naw, I don’t feel like doin’ that. He takes too damn long. Or perhaps you’d like to convince me?” Arthur’s beard was lightly tickling against her skin, if she wasn’t careful, she’d be dragging him back into the cabin and it was a pain in the ass to get everything back on again.

“Is this how it’s gonna be.” His free hand slipped around the back of her neck and gripped tightly, causing a gasp to sound from her, “cause I don’t play games.”

She smirked and quickly ran the tip of her tongue against his lips, “Oh, but I do, Arthur.”

Roughly he pulled her lips to his, warmth shot from her chest and down to her core, causing an ache to form between her legs. Though they had fun last night, she wanted more. She always wanted more. Her moans vibrated against his lips and desire flowed through him, how much he wanted to fuck her again. Make her scream his name, like he did last night. But there were other things that needed to be done. He pulled away giving her some space to breathe.

“Guess I can wait for Dutch to figure something out.” Her cheeks were warm and red as she looked at him. He may be an outlaw, but once you got on his warm side, he was easy to get along with.

He smirked, “Good. We’ll find Colm. Don’t you worry.”

“Then you tell Dutch to hurry the fuck up.” She pulled away from her horse, “Been waiting two years to shoot that son of a bitch. I ain’t waitin’ any longer.” She walked by him and over to see Pearson, wondering what he was up too. Rose walked into the open cabin, “something smells mighty fine. I think--”

Pearson shot up, fixing himself, after taking another swig of whiskey. “Had I known I’d have female company, I would have cleaned up a little."

“Oh trust me.” Rose laughed and grinned, “I ain’t the greatest company.”

“She ain’t lying.” Arthur came up behind her.

“Lucky Lenny found ya, helluva time to be out on your horse.”

“What can I say?” she walked over and looked down at the bottle that Pearson was drinking from, “I loved the idea of freezing my diddey's off.” She smiled cheekily. Arthur groaned and shook his head, “So what’s cookin’?”

Pearson laughed and walked over to the table, looking over whatever food was lying there, “Let’s see--we have a few cans of food and a rabbit. For ten, twelve…” Pearson looked at Rose, “thirteen people? When I was in the navy—“

Arthur laughed, “I-I do not wish to hear about…what you got up to in the Navy, Mr.Pearson.”

Rose walked over to Arthur, “Well that’s just not fair. I’d be mighty fine hearing some stories from Mr. Pearson.”

“No—“ Arthur protested.

“We were stranded at sea…for fifty days.”

“And you unfortunately survived…” Arthur quipped at him.

“When we ran away from Blackwater…I wasn’t able to get supplies in.” Pearson grabbed onto a black cauldron and carried it over to the fire.

“Well when government agents are hunting you down…sometimes shopping trips need to be cut short. We’ll survive…we always have and if needs be we can eat you… you’re the fattest.”

Rose looked at Arthur, “look if there ain’t enough food ‘round here. Let me go and have a look. I’m good with a gun and shooting shit.”

Pearson looked at her, “I already sent Lenny and Bill hunting and they found nothing.”

Arthur stuck his hands over the fire, trying to warm them up, “Well Lenny’s more into book learning than hunting. Bill’s a fool.” Charles walked over to the lot of them, listening to the conversation.

“You just make all sorts of friends ‘round here, don’t ya? Why don’t you let me head up to the mountains and I’ll bring you boys back some goddamn meat.” She winked playfully at Arthur before he continued to speak.

“Unless those mountains are full of game that wanna read..ain’t no wonder they found—“

Charles cut him off, “Enough of this. We’ll go find something. Come on, Arthur.”

“Wait a second, hold on—“ Pearson hurried over and picked up a jar of something and handed it to Arthur, “here…you’re gonna need something to eat out there.”

“Assorted salted offal…” he chuckled for a moment, “starving would be preferable.”

Rose walked over and smirked before finally walking out of the cabin and over to her horse, “shall we head out boys—“

“Whoa there—“ Arthur caught up with her and turned her to face him, “you can stay here, little miss.”

“Little miss? S’cuse me? Do ya know who you’re talking too?” The winds stung against her exposed skin on her face, “I can handle myself, Arthur—“

He bent close to speak to her, “ you think I didn’t notice that wound on that arm of yours? Boast all you want about your shootin’—“ her eyes looked at his, “but you can’t go huntin’ with that arm of yours.”

“I’ve been through much worse, Arthur. But you wouldn’t know that—“

He admired the way she looked at him, how strong she was. Sure she could handle herself, but then what would happen if she couldn’t, “We won’t be long. You stay here and stay warm.”

“Won’t be able to without you—“ she lifted her fingers up to his lips, “Mighty bossy... Kinda like it.” She pulled away from him, “now you boys stay safe out there. Charles, you make sure Arthur here makes it back in one piece. Need ‘im alive.”

She lifted her hand up gesturing a goodbye as they slowly disappeared towards the mountain. Her feet crunched in the snow as she made her way over the Dutch’s cabin. She opened the door to the sight of Dutch and Micah and a few other men sitting around trying to figure out where to scout. Dutch looked up from the papers they had scattered around.

“Rose—“

“Mornin’ gentlemen. Mind if I join?”

“No, not at all.”

Hosea walked over to Rose, “M’dear, look at you.” The dad she never had, Hosea was a godsend. Always kept a level head, even when the rest of them didn’t. Rose wrapped her arms around him.

“So good to see ya, Hosea.” She smiled softly before he pulled away and went back over to Dutch.

Her and Dutch had an understanding, a very deep understanding. But he did know her and her sister long time ago. After her mother had passed away and her father had gotten himself killed. They had nowhere to go. She was about 13 and Agatha was 6 when they had gone with Dutch, Hosea and Arthur. As much as she was crushing on the poor fool, he was engaged to Mary at the time. Rose had an understanding of what is was they did and what she was getting into. But it was better than nothing, better than her trying to take care of her younger sister. After they left...12  years flew by. So many years... And yet Dutch looked at her the same way he always did.

With love...

At least his version of it.

Rose sat down in one of the chairs, Micah offering her up a cigarette. She smiled and took it from his hand, lighting up a match and inhaling the tobacco.

“I need some of you men to go out and scout the area. The snow seems to be dying off in our favour, would appreciate if y’all could go and see what we’re dealing with.”

Bill stood up with the smoke in his mouth, “we can head out now, weather seems good. At least decent ‘nough.”

Rose sat quietly smoking, as everyone left from the cabin, minus her and Dutch. He turned to look at her, “Nothin’s changed for you has it, Rose?”

She chuckled and inhaled more of her smoke, “Dutch, a lot has happened since you last saw of me and my sister. Well...most of it ain’t good.” Her body felt a little shaky, but she stood up from the chair and walked over to Dutch, leaning against the table.

“How is Agatha these days—“ he went to look at her, seeing the hardness from the subject. She took in the last of her smoke and threw it onto the ground, breathing out the excess.

“She’s dead, Dutch. Has been for the last two years.”

Dutch reached over and rested his hand on her shoulder, “I’m awful sorry to hear that, Rose. She was a good kid.”

“Yeah. Which is why I’m personally looking to put a goddamn bullet in Colm O’Driscoll’s head. And I heard you’re looking for him. So like I told Arthur, I’m sticking ‘round until that little shit dies.”

Dutch watched her eyes closely, “Where the hell is Arthur?”

“Gone out with Charles to do some huntin’, so that we don’t hafta cook Pearson. Should it come to that.” A smile played along her face and then some blushing did. She never told Arthur of the time she had…slept with Dutch. It was one time and after it happened. Her and Agatha had left. Disappearing into the night. Rose wondered if Dutch still felt bitter about it, sometimes the thought would invade her. But as she stood there looking at him. It all came back and she was sure he was thinking about it too.

“You’ve grown into a fine woman, Rose.”

She smiled at the compliment, “you didn’t do so bad yourself, Dutch.” Being playful was her thing, always had and will be. Her arms wrapped around his body, hugging him tightly. Though unlike Arthur, Dutch didn’t mind so much, “I never did get the chance to thank ya, for everything you had done for me and Agatha.”

“It was my pleasure.” He whispered hugging her back and holding her close. She pulled away from him, not wanting to linger.

“I best be heading out, go and help Pearson make some food for these poor people. If you ever need another gun, Dutch. Know that I’m always willin’ and ready.”

“Good to know.” He rubbed the bottom of his stubbly chin. She went to walk out the door when his voice stopped her. She closed her eyes, thinking she should have forced herself to go with Arthur, “why’d you leave so damn quick that night?”

“Shit—“ she whispered to herself and turned to look at Dutch. Of course he didn’t forget about it, “ya seem to be making it a hard thing to understand. You wanted something and I let you have it.” Flashes of that night were coming back to her. And it was causing a hell of a fluster, “I let you have  _all_  of  _me_.”

Dutch walked over to her, closing the space between them, “You left without a goddamn word to me. Just up and whisked you and Agatha into the night. Did what I say bother you that much?”

Her hands clenched into fists, “I couldn’t return your words, Dutch…you are a fine man, probably one of the best that I know. But I was young.”

He laughed and it was deep and taunting, “18 years of age, my dear. And it didn’t stop you from coming to me that night.”

_The ways of the outlaws, was now her way of living. It was a scary trek, trying to chase down that train. Jumping off a hilltop and onto the damn thing. She had never done that before. But she had been held up at gun point and those men were talking all sorts of wrongs things. Things that they were gonna do to her._

_Dutch had saved her life in more ways than one._

_When they all headed back to camp after robbing the damn train, all Rose wanted to do was curl up and forget it happened. She knew she’d have to be stronger in this line of work. And be stronger for her younger sister, Agatha._

_She walked over to Dutch’s tent and walked in, “Ya got a minute?”_

_“Rose—“ he stood up from the chair and turned to face her, her cheeks filled red seeing his shirt was open, exposing his chest._

_“Oh—lord—“ She turned and hid her face, “I’m mighty sorry, Dutch.”_

_He looked down and smirked as he started to button up his shirt, “Sorry—wasn’t expecting company.”_

_“It’s fine—I wanted to thank ya for saving my life. Lord knows what those men were gonna do…” though she had a pretty good idea of what. A warm hand touched her shoulder and turned to face Dutch, both his hands now resting on her shoulders._

_“I gave your sister my word that I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” He laughed for a moment, “said she’d put a bullet between my legs if something did.”_

_“An 11 year old threatenin’ ya?” Rose smile and laughed for a moment, “Hearts in the right place, but I wouldn’t worry too much. She can’t shoot worth a damn.” Her smile faded, “probably should fix that…” she was really getting off track. Whatever it was she was feeling, Lord it was hot and aching. This want and need that she couldn’t explain. But she walked close to him and went to press her lips against his cheek, “Again, thank ya—“_

_Dutch turned his head capturing her lips against his. The aching feeling in her lower stomach flared as his lips touched hers. At first she wasn’t certain and pulled away slightly, looking at him. His eyes looked down at hers, his hands slinking up to cup around her face, her skin felt hot beneath his palms. “Do you want me?” He whispered, “ ‘cause I ain’t gonna lie. I want you.”_

_A part of her had come to his tent for a reason that wasn’t for pure reasons. Yes, she did want to thank him, but after stirring in her bed for lord knows how long. She came here. The question lingered in her mind but seconds later she reached out and grabbed onto his shirt, trying to rip off the fabric. A groan sounding from him as her lips found his. Everything went from slow to fast real quick. He threw her most of her clothing onto the ground, before lightly throwing her onto his bed._

_His eyes looked hungry, as if he was going to devour her, and her eyes went to his throbbing cock, dripping with his own lust, “spread them pretty legs for me.” And she did just that, his eyes trailing down to her glistening cunt. He knelt down on the floor between her legs and pulled her hips close to his face. Her eyes watched his before he delved into her wet folds, his tongue running along over her clit, causing her body to squirm beneath his touch._

_“D-dutch—“ her fingers reached out, running them through his hair._

_He lapped at her for a few more minutes, taking in the taste of her before he kissed up her body and planted himself between her legs. Her desire and lust wore off a little bit, realizing she hadn’t done this before...at all. Sure, fooled around with some men, but it didn’t get far as she always had to pull a gun on someone. His touch was gentle as he pulled her close to him, the tip of his cock pushing lightly against her opening._

_She had no idea how it was supposed to feel, but he pushed in feeling some resistance. Her moans turned into whimpers, feeling some pain before it dulled down into nothing. Dutch looked down at her, his breathing heavy, perhaps she should have told him. But she didn’t have to, cause he knew. He knew the minute he felt her. However she didn’t want to talk about it and reached her hands up to pull him down, her lips finding his in a searing kiss._

_“Dutch—please—“_

_He moved slowly at first, and then rested his head in the crook of her neck, moving against her hard and fast. Her whimpers turned into moans that echoed in and outside of the tent. She was wondering why she hadn’t done this before, “Rose—“ he breathed against her skin and held her close._

_Her head arched back, breathing hard and ragged as cried out, feeling a shuddering pleasure shoot through her. Dutch groaned, feeling her hot and tight around him as his movements slowed. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist as he came, filling her with spurts of cum. He pulled out and laid down beside her on the small bed and pulled her close to him, “Could be like this every day, you know—“ his hands ran along her sides, whispering in her ear, “Be with me.” She turned to look at him, Lord, was this man about to say something he shouldn’t? “I love you, Rose. Have for quite some time.”_

_The words washed over her and dread. She didn’t love him._

Rose stood still, her cheeks burning from the memory and it made her heart ache with pain, “I can’t do this. It’s in the past, Dutch. Why ya wantin’ to drudge up old memories, when they cause nothin’ but grief...”

He was a few inches from her, standing so close. He may have aged, but he was still a handsome man. “You left without sayin’ a word. Course I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout it all these years.”

“Dutch—“

“Rose. “ his hand reached up and lightly ran his fingers along her face, “I loved you. Was that such a hard thing to bear?”

“Kinda.” She sighed, coulda done this 12 years ago, but no. She had to bail at that moment, “I gave you a part of me, that no other man will be able to have. Why can’t you take that for what it was?”

“And what would that be?”

“A night of passion. I ain’t gonna lie, you’re a fine man indeed. But I can’t do this. Much has happened, Dutch and it ain’t good things.” Even with all her layers of clothing on, it still felt cold in the cabin.

“Like what, Rose?”

The pain was flooding her like clockwork, her eyes looked at his, “Dutch—please. It’ll do ya no good to know.”

“Tell me.” He seemed so goddamn aggressive about this.

A few tears fell down from her eyes, though now she looked more angry than sad. It looked like he was about to give up as he walked away from her towards the cabin door when she finally gritted out through her teeth, “I was pregnant.”

The walking came back towards her and stopped right behind her. She turned slowly to face him, “You were pregnant...with my goddamn child—“

“About 2 months after I left with Agatha. We had a run in—some outlaws. I was injured real bad and--” Her eyes left his, “you get it.”  

Dutch, though an outlaw, could had been a father. To a child that would have been his own. “were you ever gonna come back?”

“It don’t matter now.” He moved forward and pressed his lips against hers deeply and for a moment she gave in, moaning softly. Finally she pulled away from him, “Dutch—“

“It’s Arthur, ain’t it? You love him.”

Rose laughed softly, “I do. But don’t you go telling him that stuff. He don’t know and it’s best to stay that way.” She went and hugged him tightly, before she pulled back to look at him, “You’ve done a lot for me, Dutch. I’ve always loved you, I’ve cared for our friendship. And that night—“ she blushed and smirked, “I’m glad it was you.”

His arms tightened around her body as he looked at her, “keep talking like that—and I’m not gonna be able to contain myself—“

“Well ain’t that tough for ya...” she turned her head over towards the door, “Arthur should be back with Charles now. I better go—“

His grip was tight on her as she tried to move from him, “Just one last kiss.”

It wasn’t like Arthur was courting her or anything like that and she had never been tied down to one man, “Since you asked so nicely—“ as she stood there looking at him, contemplating the idea. The cabin door opened. She pulled away so damn fast, unsure of who was walking through the door. However it was Arthur and she couldn’t bear to look at him. So, she hurried past him and out into the cold. “This is stupid. I ain’t with Arthur—“ she mumbled to herself.  The thought about taking her horse and heading out,  had crossed her mind as the weather seemed bearable. But decided against it as she started back over to the cabin they had put her in. As she reached the door, Arthur’s voice caught her off guard, causing her to jump a little, “A-arthur--Tryin’ to give me a heart attack?”

“Mhmm...” he lit up a smoke and turned to look at her, “Do I need to ask what was going on back there? Or can I rightfully assume you just can’t keep your pants on—“

She grimaced at the comment, only laughing a litte, “Don’t ya dare, Arthur. It ain’t none of your business.”

He walked over to her and pushed her into the cabin, shutting the door behind him. “Maybe not. But if Molly finds out ‘bout it, you gotta deal with her.”

“Dutch and I were talkin’ ‘bout the past. There happy?”

“Not even close.”

She groaned and shook her head, “It ain’t your business. It’s not like I’m sweet on him or anything like that—“

“Looked pretty sweet on him in there—“

She walked over to him and grabbed onto the smoke, with still lots to go, she threw it onto the ground and stomped her foot on it. Arthur didn’t look too pleased about that, “Now I know, you’d never understand, Arthur Morgan. But what happened between Dutch and I, was a long time ago.”

He hummed in his throat, looking down at her, “Is that so?”

“We’re done here.” She went to pull away, but Arthur had a tight grip around her. She was mighty angry, she didn’t want to be around him. Or anyone for that matter.

“Then who you sweet on?” his eyes looked down at hers, pulling her closer, “You can tell me--“

She took a deep breath, “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to, Arthur.”

“Will you just goddamn say—“

“You.” she cut him off, “It’s you, alright? It’s been you for, quite a while...” his grip loosened slightly as she pulled away from him and walked out of the cabin. Giving Arthur something to think about . She looked over to her horse, Lily, hitched up at the post. “Fuck it—“ she walked over to her horse and hopped on, taking her out into the snow, “Come on girl—gonna go find us some O’Driscoll boys.” And headed out, following the tracks that the boys had taken. They came back just as she took Lily and waited for them to crowd into Dutch’s cabin. She heard a few of them saying they found a ranch, south of their location. It didn’t take too long, to get there, the blizzard and lack of wind made it easier to navigate. When she got there, she left her horse behind to scout out the area, with Arthur’s binoculars. She crouched down and went over to the edge looking over some cabins.

“There you are, son of a bitch.” She whispered, it looked like Colm was heading out somewhere. If she was gonna do this, it had to be quick and when she turned to head down the hill, one of Colm’s men had her at gunpoint.

“Nice n’ easy, sweetheart—“ her eyes watch his from under her hat, “Let’s go—“ he motioned her to move, she didn’t want to argue and went along with him back towards the ranch.

“What the hell is goin’ on?” Colm looked seeing one of his men bringing someone to him.

“Found her on the hilltop, scouting out the area it would seem.” He shoved her forward and Colm hopped off his horse. Rose looked up at him, her eyes glaring at his.

Colm grinned walking over to her. He didn’t age well, his eyes looked tired and had many cares, looking a lot older than he was, and his teeth...“It been a long time, hasn’t Rose?” 

Angry tears filled her eyes as she looked at him, but she didn’t say much. His hand reached out as he roughly grabbed onto her face.

“See you’re still bitter about Agatha—“ her teeth gritted, her hands clenching into fists, “Sweet thing. Such a horrible thing to befall a beauty like that.”

“You killed her—“

He smiled and ran the pad of his thumb along her bottom lip, “Sometimes ya need to make a point. I was gonna marry her. But she didn’t fancy marryin’ me.”

“I don’t blame her.”

His hand made hard contact with her face, the sound echoing through the skies. “You got a mouth on you. I think I’ll put it to good use later.”

Her eyes closed for a moment, the thought was horrifying, “I’d rather be dead, than to let you touch me—“

“It’ll be like old times, Rose.” He whispered against her ear before he laughed and pulled away from her. Most of his men had headed back to their post, he looked over to the two beside her, “throw her in one of the cabins. I’ll see to her later.” He got on his horse and rode away from them, disappearing down the hill. Two of the men grabbed onto her arms and started to move her, but quickly she grabbed onto the pistol from one of them and shot him in the face, shoving the other one away as she ducked into cover.

“Shit—“ she whispered, “start a goddamn fight with all of ‘em? Good goin’.”

She popped up quickly taking a few shots and pinging a few of them down for good. Waiting before she went up again, only to have a bullet carve along her shoulder. “Fuck!” she yelled out and laid low.

Arthur ran over to her and hiked her behind a rock, “C’mere—“

“I-I don’t need your fuckin’ help, Arthur!” She looked seeing Dutch and a few of the guys.

He chuckled at her snarky remark, “You’re welcome. Now stay low—“

She came up anyways and took a few more shots, hitting a few more men.

Arthur glared at her, “Goddamn it woman. I told you to stay low.”  He came up, shooting off his gun. He was a good shot. Always was.  But hell if Rose was gonna be useless to the lot of them.

“Sorry, Arthur—“ she pulled herself away from the rock and ran over to some boxes, hiding below and peeking out as she fired her gun.

“Goddamn stubborn woman...” he gritted through his teeth.

The pain in her arm wasn’t so bad. It was what Colm had said, that was truly bothering her. She’d never let the man touch her again. She looked down at the pistol and groaned, seeing she had only one bullet left. There was one man left, but he grabbed onto the back of her jacket and shoved his pistol deep into her neck.

“Keep nice and still—“ he whispered against her ear and then yelled out to Arthur and the rest of them, “Now ya’ll better put down your guns. Or else the pretty one gets a bullet in her head.”

Rose struggled, trying to find something she could fight him off with, “Don’t you dare, Dutch—I ain’t—I ain’t worth it.” It dug deeper into her skin, causing her to cry out, “Keep your weapons boys. Don’t listen to this little shit—“ he kneed her hard into her back.

Arthur shifted his head out and looked over to Dutch. They couldn’t shoot him, without hitting her. There was some blood dripping off of her and onto the snow as her hand reached slowly to the knife the guy had on his side, gripping tightly onto the handle. It was swift and quick as she stabbed the knife into his side; he screamed and pulled away from her trying to get the knife out. Rose pulled her gun out and pressed it against his head. A loud bang echoing as some of his body splattered onto her clothing and face. The sound of his body thumped onto the ground.

Her breathing was ragged and hard as she looked down at the body. The pain in her arm seemed dull from the adrenaline coursing through her. Anger also blinding her so much, that she was gonna go and chase down that son of a bitch, Colm and peel his eyes out from his skull. Her hair had come undone as locks of brown curls hid the darkness that filled her eyes. She turned away from the body and made her way back over to Arthur, “I’m goin’ after him—“

“The hell you are—“ he grabbed onto her, trying not to grab her bleeding arm. “You’re not chasing after him with the way you are—“

“I had one fucking chance, Arthur. I was so close, closer than any of you’ve gotten and he got away!” could she really stop how she was feeling? Her eyes shook as she looked at Arthur, “I could have ended this! Lord knows where the little shit is hiding now—“

Dutch walked over, a few of the others following behind, “We’ll  get Colm, Rose. He ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

“I’d like to see any of you try and stop me.” Her eyes were dark and edged, “Just try—“

“I think it’d be wise that you head back to camp.” She turned to look at Arthur, “Go and rest. You’ll thank us for it later.”

Dutch motioned Bill over, “Take her back to camp and make sure Ms. Grimshaw sees to that wound.” Bill lightly placed his hand on her back, urging her to move. Rose looked behind her at Arthur and then walked with Bill back to her horse.

“Naw, you can ride with me. It’ll be hard to climb up with that arm.”

She wanted to argue, but decided against it as she walked over to him and grabbed onto his hand as he hoisted her up. As they moved forward, Rose whistled, her horse turning and following behind as they headed back to camp.

“Fine horse you got there.” Bill chimed in.

“She’s been through a lot with me.” She smiled softly watching Lily walking along, “my only friend.”

“Don’t seem like it. What about Arthur?”

Rose laughed, “What ‘bout him? More like a pain in my ass.”

“Arthur Morgan, as much as I hate to say it... he’s a good man. When he’s not being a complete prick. I highly doubt he would have put up with your shit as long as he has.”

“What are you on ‘bout?”

“After he saw you, he wouldn’t shut up about what you did. Said you took his clothes and left only his hat.” Bill laughed, “would’ve paid to see the look on his face.”

She smirked, “Would’ve seen more than his face, Bill.” She giggled and whistled once more, making sure Lily was still following. They reached the camp as Ms. Grimshaw came out of one of the cabins.

“Oh for pete’s sake.” She hurried over to Rose and helped her down off her horse, looking at the wound on her arm, “You’re just as bad as the boys. I swear you’d all die if I weren’t ‘round.”

Rose nodded her head, “I have zero doubts about that, Ms.Grimshaw.”

“Come then, get you all cleaned and patched up.”

The day was losing its light as she waited for Arthur to come back. The others came, but apparently Arthur went chasing down one of O’Driscoll’s boys, hoping to bring him back here. Rose stood up from her bed and slipped on her coat wrapping it around her as she walked outside. Arthur came up with something or someone on the back of his horse, “Here we are you sack of shit. Let’s introduce you to the boys.” he hopped off and hiked him over his shoulder.

“Don’t hurt me, please.”

“Ooh, don’t worry, they’re real nice.”

Rose walked over to Arthur and looked down at the guy, “Caught yourself a live one, did ya?”

“I did. Slippery Bastard.”

“Please ma’am, lady, whoever you are—“

“Lemme stop ya right there, boy.” Rose looked down at him, “I’m the last person you should be begging, for your life. To be honest, wouldn’t mind seeing ya squirm a little bit.”

“She got a point.” Arthur laughed as they walked over to Dutch’s cabin.

Dutch walked outside, “Ho, found the little shit, did you?”

“Yep—“ Arthur threw him down onto the ground, “I got him.” Pulling out his knife to cut the rope around his feet.

“Very good.” Dutch started rolling up a piece of paper, “Welcome to your new home...Hope you’re real happy here.”

Arthur grabbed onto the guy and lifted him up onto his feet, “You want me to make him talk?”

Rose walked over to the guy looking him over, “I think you should let me have a try. You like to have fun boy?”

“I—I do—“

“Well see, can start off with some metal spikes. Get ‘em real nice and hot to poke ya with. Then we can go from there—“

The boy looked frightened, more so than he did before Arthur caught him, “I ain’t with O’Driscoll, I swear. Please keep her away from me!”

Dutch looked at Arthur and then at Rose, “Oh no, now all we’ll get is lies. Uncle. Mr. Williamson. Tie this maggot up someplace safe. We get him hungry first.”

“Aw, you boys ain’t no fun. Could get him talking real quick.”

“Remind me not to piss you off, Rose.” Arthur smirked.

Dutch looked over to the boy, “I got a saying, my friend...we shoot fellers as need shootin’...save fellers as need savin’...and feed ‘em as need feedin’. We’re gonna find out what you need. I can’t believe it!” Dutch turned around to walk away, “An O’Driscoll in my camp.”

“No, I ain’t an O’Driscoll, mister!” the boy started to yell out, “I hate that feller.”

“Oh, whatever you say, son.” Dutch yelled out and looked at Arthur, “Well done, Arthur.”

“I’m just sorry we missed out on Colm.”

Dutch looked over at Rose, seeing the pain if not the annoyance about that, “Oh, there’s time enough for that. Now, I gotta figure out if we can hit that train.” Dutch walked back into his cabin and shut the door.

Arthur looked over at Rose, “See Ms. Grimshaw patched you up.”

“That she did.” Rose walked with Arthur back over to his cabin.

“Also see you’re ignoring her demands to be restin’ in bed.”

She laughed, “What she don’t know, won’t hurt her.” They reached his cabin, stopping outside, “Well Arthur...you have a good night.”

His eyes watched hers for a moment as she turned away and walked back over to her cabin. The door shut behind her as she slowly stripped off her jacket. She walked over to bed and picked up the bottle of whiskey she left on the floor, chugging back whatever was left.

_“Please Colm! I’m beggin’ ya...Don’t hurt Agatha!”_

_Colm turned to look at her._

_“I’ll do whatever ya want. Anything. Please—“ her voice cracked as she looked at Agatha, knelt down on the ground, some blood sliding down her the side of her face, “Take me instead--“_

Rose stared down at the bottle, her hand shaking lightly.

_“I don’t want you—“ his gun sounded off as Agatha’s body went ridged and still as she fell, blood poured onto the ground._

_Rose fell silent, she couldn’t scream. She couldn’t do anything._

_“But now that you mention it—“ Colm walked over to her and motioning to his men, “take her to my cabin.”_

Her eyes shut tightly, trying to ignore the memories that flooded her.

_Colm walked over to her and tied her to his bed._

_First he hit her._

_Then cut her._

_It wasn’t until later that he touched her, and it wasn’t a pleasant touch._

_Then he forced himself on her. Multiple times._

_“Does it feel good?” he whispered, “cause I’m gonna do this—again and again and again—“_

A few tears fell down her face as she whipped the bottle at the wall near the front door, unaware that someone was coming in. The bottle shattered against the wall and Arthur jumped back, “Jesus, are you tryin’ to kill me?”

“I didn’t—“ she paused, seeming both confused and upset, “I tried to save Agatha.” Arthur shut the door behind him and walked over to her.

“Rose—“

“I offered myself, so that he wouldn’t kill her. But he did and then he took me and tortured me. Raped me...” her teeth gritted as she walked around the cabin, “I coulda killed him today. I was so close, Arthur...so fuckin’ close. Closer than I was ever gonna get!”

He stood there looking at her, “We’ll get him, Rose. You’re not the only one wanting him dead.”

“But I coulda done it, Arthur—“ her voice shook, before she yelled, “and then he’d be gone!”

“And so would you—“ Arthur yelled back, which was both frightening and quite the turn on. He took off his hat and placed it down on the table. He sighed and slipped off his coat before he walked over to her.

“Why does that matter? He woulda been dead. And that’s all that should matter, Arthur.”

“You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”

She sighed and looked at him, now wondering, “Why are you in my cabin?”

Arthur looked at her, but decided not to say anything as he walked over to her and pulled her close. His head resting in the crook of her neck. She gave in and placed her hands on his back pulling him close. The need for someone to be there, to tell her everything would be alright. A battle she had endured for the last 2 years.

Her lips went to his ear, whispering softly, “You’re a fine man, Arthur Morgan.” His arms tightened around her, “Stay with me tonight?”

He pulled away slightly and looked down at her, “You sure?”

“I wouldn’t be askin’ if I wasn’t.” She smiled softly and cupped his face in her hands, “I think I’m a fool.”

“And why’s that?”

 “To think that I could ever leave you behind, Arthur Morgan.” She grabbed onto his hands and pulled him over to her bed, slipping off her blouse and leaving her half naked. She had some scars that littered along her chest, the freshly bandaged wound on her arm. Arthur grabbed onto the waist of her pants and pulled her close, unbuckling her belt and pants. As her hands worked at his shirt, slowly, exposing his chest. A smile played along her lips seeing his chest hair, “Fine man indeed.”

He hummed in his throat looking down at her, his hands sliding down her pants and then along her sides and ass, pulling her hips hard against his. She laughed softly, still trying to get his pants off.

“Won’t be able to get these damn things off, if ya keep doing that—“

“That so?” he smirked and pushed her back onto the bed, slipping his pants and everything off, kicking them to the side as he crawled into bed with her and under the covers. Her fingers danced along his chest as she snuggled close to him, his skin felt burning hot against hers. Her eyes wandered from his face and down along his chest and stomach as it disappeared under the blankets.

“Arthur—“ her eyes still looked sad, but the tears had stopped. She pushed herself up and straddled his hips.

 He moaned sliding his hands onto her thighs, “Thought we was gonna sleep.” A soft gasp sounded from her, feeling his cock push against her wet folds. She shifted her hips, feeling the length of him rub against her clit. A groan sounded from Arthur as he moved her hips upwards, pushing his way into her aching cunt. His eyes looking up at her naked form, “Though, I shouldn’t complain.” He chuckled deep in his throat.

“Naw, you shouldn’t.” Her moans were soft and quiet.

His fingers ran to her wound on her arm, “sure you can handle it?”

“I can—“

He sat up, wrapping her legs around his waist, her chest pressed against his, causing all sorts of pleasurable feelings to course through her. “I think—“ he pulled her hips close to his, her arms wrapping tightly around him, as he thrust up into her core. Feeling her hot and tight around his length, “best you let me—“ he groaned holding her close. Her whimpers and moans turning into gasps as he fucked her.

“A-arthur—“

His lips found her neck as he kissed and bit her skin lightly, his beard burning and tickling against her. His breathing became ragged.

Her fingers ran through his hair, “I’m close—“ she breathed out.

Arthur chuckled against her skin, finally moving back up to her lips, hovering over them, “So soon?” Her eyes watched his, god she loved this man. She loved him so much. And even though she told him she was sweet on him, he probably still didn’t know the truth. Which was fine for the time being.

He lifted her up and laid her down on the bed, his hips moving hard and slow. He looked down at her, watching her thrive and squirm under his touch, how good he was making her feel. Especially after everything that happened. Her moans grew louder with each thrust, hitting her sweet spot. She tightened her legs around his waist, pulling him close, wanting more of him.

“Harder—please Arthur—“

He bent down and captured her lips, his tongue tasting her mouth as he tried to thrust harder, sweat lingering between the two. His one hand dug into her hip as the other held him up for support, looking down at her.

Wasn’t cold in the cabin anymore.

His thrusts went to slow movements, feeling himself closer and closer to climaxing. Her hand went to his hair, slicking it back from the sweat that accumulated and pulled him close, “Cum for me---“ she whispered against his lips.

“Rose—“ he moaned against her lips, before he groaned and yelled out, thrusting slow as hot spurts of cum filled her womb. The feeling of emptiness came when he pulled out, but his fingers filled her quickly, rubbing his thumb against her clit, her moans turning into cries of pleasure, “ _Does it feel good_?”

Her eyes shot open wide, for a second it didn’t sound like Arthur. She didn’t feel well, she didn’t want this anymore, “Stop—“ her tone when from soft to harsh.

“Rose?” He was starting to wonder if he wasn’t doing something right.

“I said—STOP!”

He pulled his fingers away from her and looked down at her. A couple of tears slid down the sides of her face. Arthur closed his eyes, breathing hard, “Rose, look at me—“ her eyes went over to his, her hands cupping his face. Warmth surrounded him, causing his eyes to close for a moment. This wasn’t Colm. It was Arthur. “That bastard is gonna die. One way or another, for what he did to you.”

Her heart was pounding hard against her chest, as she looked at him, “I’m sorry, Arthur—“

“C’mere,” he laid down on the bed and pulled her close, both laying on their sides. Her hand went up, playing with the beard on his face.

“Like you with a beard. Better be keeping that.” She smiled softly, his right hand on her side, pulling her closer to him. They stay liked that throughout the night till morning came.

The light shined through the windows as she opened her eyes slowly, realizing she must have turned away at some point during the night. But Arthur’s arm was tight around her waist, and his arousal twitched against her backside. She went to move when Arthur’s arm tightened.

“Where you think you’re goin’?” his voice rasped out.

Rose smiled and ran her hand along his arm before she turned to face him, his arm still around her waist, “I’m goin’ to get dressed and see what ya’ll are doin’ today.”

He smirked, “One helluva nosy person, huh?”

“Of course, Arthur. You wouldn’t have it any other way—“

He pulled her down, kissing her deeply, “You’re right.”

She pulled away from him, feeling the cold in the cabin hit her bare skin, “Goddamn! Think I’m gonna have a talk with Dutch ‘bout his plan for us to leave. ‘Cause I am hatin’ this cold!” she hurried around picking up her clothes, which were also cold to the touch. Arthur sat up and placed his feet on the ground, shivering at the cold for a moment before he stood up completely naked. Rose’s eyes went over to his body and smiled, “Is that a gun, Arthur. Or are ya just happy to see me?”

He grabbed onto her pillow and threw it at her, “Awful giddy today, ain’t ya?”

“Well Arthur, someone has to be.” She walked over to him and handed his clothes over, “Ain’t no fun when you’re angry and sad looking all the time.”

“That what you think of me?”

She stood on the tip of her toes and pressed her lips against his softly, “I think lots of things, Arthur. And they’re good. Now get dressed. Sure Dutch is lookin’ for ya.”

“Bet he is.” Arthur chuckled and slipped on his clothing, “Turning into his damn errand boy.”

They both dressed, finally warm again. Arthur stopped her at the door to her cabin and pressed his lips against hers once more.

“You be careful out there, Arthur. God knows what Dutch has planned.”

“Said somethin’ ‘bout a train. Dutch always has a plan.”

Rose opened the door as Arthur went out first, her following after and walked with him over to Dutch’s cabin. Rose leaned against the wall as the boys talked out their plans to heist the train and as much as she loved the idea of robbing a rich prick. She wanted out of the mountains bad.

“Dutch—“ she had to chime in, he looked over at her.

“Ms. Reed, always somethin’ to say.” He motioned her to come over, “Now what can I do for you?”

She looked at the lot of them and then back at Dutch, “I’d like it if I could leave. Go and scout out that area Hosea was talkin’ ‘bout, outside of Valentine?”

“Can’t take the cold m’dear?” Dutch smirked.

“Leave the girl alone, I don’t blame her one bit for wantin’ to get out of here. We all do.”

“An I get that. However I can go ahead. The snows let off and I’d be able to make it there. I can even take the girls. We can set up. For the most part.”

“Ain’t wantin’ to rob a train, eh? Knew you weren’t good for anything—“ Micah laughed before Rose walked over and grabbed the smoke hanging from his mouth and placed it in her mouth. Micah grimaced at her, but then grabbed another smoke and lit it up.

“As much as I’d love to rob a rich prick. I ain’t wantin’ to waste no time in helpin’ make sure that everything is good for when ya want to leave.” She took a puff, looking at Dutch, “And I’m sure them girls are tired of freezing them diddey’s off.”

Dutch laughed for a moment, “Sure are right there, Ms. Reed.” He walked over to her, looking at her with soft eyes, his voice coming down to her level, “I let you do this. Does that mean you’ll be stayin’ with us?”

Rose looked at him and smiled, “Course, unless there’s any objections to my being here—“

“Keep stealing any more smokes, and there will be—“ Micah glared at her.

“Oh Micah.” She patted the side of his face, smirking as she did, “You’ll soon grow to love me. They always do.”

Micah laughed, “highly doubt it.”

Hosea came over with the map, laying it down for Rose to see; Arthur came over and looked as well. “Called Horseshoe Overlook. Its east of here, there is a town nearby called Valentine. Good place.”

“At least a day’s trip. I can make it.” She looked to Dutch, “will ya let me do it?” She looked over to Dutch, “It’ll be good for me and the girls. I can leave Ms.Grimshaw so ya’ll don’t bleed out n’ die?”

They all laughed out, Dutch placing his hand on her arm. The touch was warm and gentle, “That’s fine Ms. Reed. Make sure ya’ll make it there safe and sound.”

Rose smiled as she pulled away from Dutch and the rest of them, “Wouldn’t let a damn thing happen to them, Dutch. Should know me better than that.” She smirked and walked out of the cabin, heading over to talk with the girls about travelling in the morning.

 

When the morning came, Dutch and the boys began to head out to the train. Rose helped the girls out, packing their things into two of the wagons. Ms. Grimshaw seemed mighty bitter about being left behind.

“Ms. Grimshaw, it ain’t personal. Besides, Abagail is stayin’ behind with ya.” Rose grabbed onto a few things and threw them into the wagon, “As I said to the boys, it’s so they don’t bleed out and shit. You have a better chance of not lettin’ that happen.”

She groaned and nodded her head, “Well, I ain’tgonna argue with you Ms. Reed...Be careful is all I can ask.”

Karen, Tilly, Mary and Sadie all crawled into the wagon, “Let’s GO! Ready to leave this place.” Karen yelled out as Rose made her way over and climbed up onto the seat.

Karen smiled, “Hope you like company, doll.”

“Hoping that the weather holds up.” She whispered to herself and grabbed onto the reins, “Hi-ah!” she whipped the reins as the horses began to move slowly, “One more thing, Ms. Grimshaw!”

“What, Ms. Reed?” she yelled out.

“Tell Arthur I’m mighty sorry ‘bout stealing his smokes. Sure he’ll be wonderin’ what happened to them.”

Ms. Grimshaw rolled her eyes and waved her hand, “See you ladies in a few days.”

Rose pulled out a smoke and lit it up, leaving it in her mouth as they travelled through the snow and to the main road. Karen leaned over, starting to chat up a storm and only about one thing.

“So, see you and Arthur have been mighty sweet on each other as of late—“

“If this is all you’re gonna be on ‘bout for the whole ride, then I be shuttin’ up now.” Rose took a puff of her smoke, “Why you wanna know ‘bout that anyhow?”

Karen laughed and bundled up a bit more. The snow may have died down but, the wind was pretty nippy. “ ‘Cause Arthur wouldn’t stop bitchin’ and moanin’ ‘bout you leaving him at the motel. With nothin’ but a hat to cover the poor sod.” Karen bent over in laughter.

Rose giggled, “That was a mighty fine day, indeed! Couldn’t help it. It wasn’t meant to hurt him, just playing a real shit joke.”

“And yet here ya are.”

They travelled through the snow, slowly watching as it died off, “I was ‘round when Dutch and them got together. I didn’t stay though. Was me and Agatha after that, before Colm got her...”

Karen nodded her head, “I’m real sorry, Rose. Ain’t easy losing family. But ya got us now. Say we’re a pretty good one.”

“Ya have your moments, Karen. Guess everyone does. Come on, got a long road ahead of us.”


	2. Horseshoe Overlook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Out of the cold now, at a place called Horseshoe Overlook. Definitely warmer. Seems nicer.
> 
> Rose she's...for a woman that's lost a lot. She's strong.
> 
> There's tension between her and Dutch. Can't say I know much 'bout their past.
> 
> But what I do know is that he don't like it when I'm near her."

Rose pulled into an area, just hidden out of sight from the main road. The weather was a lot warmer, as she slowly undid her coat, “Bloody hell... Warm down here that’s for sure.”

“It’s a godsend, is what that is, Rose.” Karen smiled as the wagon stopped and hopped off  to help out Mary, Tilly and Sadie out of the back.

Rose climbed down and walked over to the back, “Better get some camps set up...see some dark clouds heading our way—“ she picked up her things and moved him over to an area, “Karen, get the lot of yamovin’, you can giggle and laugh it up when we’re done—“

“Them clouds are far away, Rose.” Karen smiled.

“We may be out of the mountains now, Karen. But we ain’t out of Mother Nature.” 

“Quit bickering,” Tilly stood up and walked over to the wagon, “at least she’s not Ms. Grimshaw.” Tilly smiled as she grabbed onto a few things, setting up what camp they could, until the rest of ‘em arrived. Whenever that would be.

“Amen to that.” Mary said as she sat with Sadie. Who still was in the mist of trying to get over her trauma.

“Aw, Ms.Grimshaw ain’t that bad—“ she stopped realizing Karen and Tilly were giving her looks, “But I could be wrong—“

 

 Rose finally sat down with the girls after what seemed like hours of work and leaned against the wagon they had set up, “See, we don’t need no men,” Rose laughed and pulled out a box.

“What you got?” Tilly looked over.

“M’dear, I took the liberty of takin’ some drinks, cause we all know, we need it more than they do.” She picked up a few bottles and passed them around to the girls. Sadie looked at them, hesitantly taking one of the bottles, probably needed it more than they did. Rose wasn’t sure what to say to the poor dear, but she looked like a fighter.

“You havin’ some?” Karen shook the bottle at Rose.

“Naw, be best if I stay on watch for the night. Make sure nothin’ comes to the camp. Be it men or animals.” She stood up and grabbed onto her pistol and a rifle. As she walked away Karen looked at her real funny.

“Arthur’s gonna kill ya knowing you took his shit again.”

Rose laughed and looked down at the rifle, “Oh, this? Naw, just borrowin’ it.” She smiled and lit up a smoke, “I’ll have it back to him in better condition than he had it.”

“Can’t say the same ‘bout you, Rose.” Karen laughed.  

Rose waved her hand and began walking along the premises of the camp grounds, making sure nothing bad was hanging around. She kept the rifle in her hands, taking a few moments to inhale some smoke before letting it rest between her lips. The girl’s laughter could be heard echoing through the trees. Hopefully no one else would hear it. The moon filled the night sky, those dark clouds from before had long disappeared. For the most part she didn’t feel tired and as the night went on, so did the laughter, until it died off into silence.

Rose continued around the premises, before there was the sound of voices and there seemed to be three of them. Three men. They came along the road, wanting to sway off when Rose held up her gun, “Can I help you, gentlemen?”

They weren’t older men, younger. To her, that meant stupid and hot-headed. “Just comin’ up to camp here. Runnin’ mighty late and need a place—“

“Sorry boys. This area is already taken. Needed a place to rest m’self. So why don’t ya’ll just turn and head to town, Valentine. Just up the ways—“

“Now now, no need to be hostile.” The one guy hopped off his horse and stalked towards her, “You all alone?”

“Why? Thinkin’ ya gonna have some fun? I’ll give ya some options.” She smirked, “Either, it’s a bullet in your brain, or your groin. Which would ya’ll prefer?”

“I ain’t scared of you—“

“Not worth it, Gavin. Let’s get out—“ The sound of a gun went off, as one guy fell off his horse and dead on the ground.

She wanted to look, realizing it wasn’t her that shot, “Still wanna play?” Rose gritted through her teeth.

Gavin held up his gun, along with his friend. Another bullet went into the other one as Rose fired off her gun, into Gavin’s chest. Silence filled the air before Karen came up behind her, “So much for keepin’ low.” Karen whispered.

Rose turned to face her, “I had it covered, Karen. Now look at this mess...”

“Yeah it’s a damn shame...” Karen went silent before asking, “Burn ‘em?”

Rose nodded her head in agreement, “Burn ‘em.” She went and grabbed onto one of the guys, “Don’t ya dare mention a word of this to Dutch. Heaven forbid we have to run before he even gets here.” Karen and Rose lugged the bodies off the road and into a pile, before lighting up a fire, “Get those horses. Might be worth some cash, if not some more options.” The smell of burning flesh filled her nose, as she grabbed onto her bandana and covered her face, “Shit...”

As the morning sky slowly appeared, Karen came over to Rose, who was still keeping watch, “Rose—“ She jumped at Karen’s voice, “go and get some goddamn sleep. Ya been up all night. Hopefully the fellers will be here at some point today.”

“Depends if they finished ransacking that train.” Rose patted Karen’s shoulder before she slowly made her way back to camp and collapsed onto her bedding.  

“Sure ya don’t want some coffee, Rose?” Tilly yelled out.

“I want some quiet, Tilly. At least for a few hours.” Her eyes slowly closed, “I hope—“ exhaustion and sleep finally overcame her, conking her out at least for 6 hours. However must had slept through the boys coming cause, by the time she opened her eyes, everyone had set up. Arthur’s camp was beside hers and Dutch beside his. She sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, “Quick, Bastards—“

Karen hurried over to her, “Mornin’ sunshine.” And handed her a cup with some coffee, “Dutch says he wants to see ya—“

Rose reached up and grabbed onto the cup before she looked over to his tent, seeing no one, “Where—“ Karen pointed out to the middle of camp, seeing the lot of them around a table. She drank the coffee as quick as she could and stood up, stripping off her jacket, her guns holstered on the side. She rolled up her sleeves as she made her way over to the lot of them.

“Mornin’ boys...” she looked over at Arthur and then at Dutch, feeling some tension, “Lookin’ like ya’ll wanna kill me...”

Dutch laughed, “M’dear, no. But we had a question.” He motioned over with his fingers, taking her to the edge of camp and pointing down at a pit, that her and Karen had made just last night, “What’s this?”

Rose looked down at the charred ground, “Well Dutch, it’s a pit.”

“That so?” He crossed his arms, “And recently burnt too.”

The lot of them looked at her, “ya wanting me to say somethin’, you better tell me, Dutch.”

“What happened last night?”

Rose shook her head, “Had a run in with a couple of fellers that were wanting up here. Gave them two options, none of which they liked. So—“

Karen butt in, “I shot two of them and Rose took the last one.” Rose turned to look at Karen, “Girls been up all night watching us. We did what we had to do.”

Dutch nodded his head and held up his hands, “I get that ladies. So what was burned in that pit?”

Rose and Karen looked at each other, before Rose looked back at Dutch and smirked. Which he fancied very much, “Wasn’t gonna leave a bunch of bodies ‘round the area, Dutch.”

Dutch sighed, “You and I are gonna have a long talk, Rose.” He started to walk away from her.

“ ‘Bout what? I did what I had to do, Dutch. Don’t act like you’re all high n’ mighty. Cause I gotta tell ya, you sure as shit ain’t.” He stopped in his tracks before she walked away from the boys, heading out from the camp grounds, mumbling to herself, “helping out, protecting those girls. Protecting us. Ya make my blood boil Dutch Van Der Linde—“

“Rose!” Arthur yelled out, causing her to stop.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Got a one way ticket to hell, if ya don’t watch your tongue ‘round him.”

Rose chuckled, “I ain’t ‘fraid of him, Arthur. He’s all talk. Especially—“ Especially with her. Her eyes went over to Arthur’s as she pulled out his rifle and handed it back over, “Was good havin’ it to use.”

He shook his head and took it from her, “this gonna be a daily thing with you? Stealin’ my shit—“

“Of course.” Rose waved her hand off as she continued to walk, “Need to be alone. I’ll see ya in a while.”

“Wait—“ Arthur came over to her, “Be careful out there.”

Rose smiled before she cupped his face and pulled his lips down against hers. Unaware that in the distance, Dutch was looking at them.

“I know ya don’t think it. But you’re a good man, Arthur. Ya really are.”

“You keep sayin’ that.” He watched as she walked through the woods before finally turning around and heading back to camp.

Even though she left the camp grounds, she knew damn well she couldn’t avoid Dutch’s talk forever, eventually they’d sit down and chat. The wind felt warm against her face as she made her way to town. Probably wasn’t a good idea to go without her horse, Lily and getting back would now take forever. However a few times during her walk to town, she could have sworn someone was riding behind her, but when she looked...there was no one. Took a long while, but she made it to Valentine. A quaint little town, having everything one would need to start a life here. It was nice. Felt peaceful, never would stay that way though. Not for her. She walked through the town and to the motel, walking in and over to the man at the counter.

“And what can I do for you, miss?”

She blushed for a moment, honestly she’d rather go jump in the river somewhere and wash up,  “I—I’d really like a bath.  Can ya set that up?”

“Course Miss. Head on right down the corridor.”

Rose pulled out some coins from her satchel and handed them over to the man before she walked down the hallway and into the bath room. She shut the door behind her and slowly began to strip down.placing her clothes on the chair, as neatly as she could before stepping into the bath. It felt hot against her skin as she sank down into it.

“Mmm...” she hummed softly letting the warmth surround her, “should do this more often—“ she whispered to herself and was about to settling in before the door opened, “Excuse me—“ her eyes went wide, “--Dutch!”

He shut the door and turned to face her, a smirk playing along his lips, “Well I’d say this is one way to make sure you’ll listen.”

“Couldn’t wait till I came back? Ya had to follow me into town. Nice Dutch, very nice.” Her eyes edged, “Get out—“

“We’re gonna talk—“ his eyes trailed along her skin until it disappeared into the water.

“Doesn’t look like that to me. I know lust when I see it—“ she looked away seeing he was unbuttoning his shirt, her arms tightening around herself, “If ya want something, all ya have to do is ask, Dutch.”

Dutch laughed deep in his throat, before he finally slipped into the bath and pulled her hard against him, some of the water swished over the sides and onto the floor, “Thought you loved Arthur—“

His hands slide down her sides, her eyes looking up at his, “He’s gonna get a part of me—“ her hands went down to his arousal, “that you ain’t never gonna have.”

The thought annoyed him, but still, he sat back in the bath and pulled her onto his lap, his cock twitching against her, “I still had you. All of you.” He whispered and ran his fingers down between her legs, feeling how hot she was. Her moans were soft and quiet as she didn’t want to alert anyone to the room. She rested her back against his chest, turning her head to look at him. He was watching her, how red and warm her cheeks were. Two fingers pushed inside causing her to moan louder, pumping in and out of her, “See—“ he whispered, “now we can both be clean.” His voice teased.

“Dutch—“

“Cum for me—“ his breath felt burning hot against her skin, his voice low and husky, “Then after, you’re gonna get out and on the floor—so I can make you feel real good.”

Aching pleasure was screaming all throughout her body. Her breasts aching with each breath as a pressure built up inside her core, her toes curling as her walls shuddered and squeezed around his fingers. She breathed out through her mouth as she came; Dutch pressing his lips against her neck, letting her ride out her orgasm.

Seconds later, they were on the floor.

Soap suds and water lingered on their skin as Dutch placed himself between her legs and slid inside her tight cunt. It had been years but, it felt like the first time again. Dutch groaned and bent down, pressing his lips against her roughly, fucking her hard.

“D-dutch—“ she cried out.

“Beautiful—“ he rasped. The sound of skin slapping against hers echoed as water droplets fell from the ends of his hair. Her hands went up, running her fingers through, his lips moving from hers and down to her neck. She clung onto him tightly, the heels of her foot digging into his back. “Ah--Rose—“ His movements slowed, his breathing ragged as a hot feeling fill her core. Dutch looked down at her, as he pulled back and rested on his knees, his one hand running down to her stomach, “could be like this all the time—“

“Now don’t ya start—“ her eyes trailed along his naked form, his arms, his dark chest hair up to his eyes looking down at hers, “You know this ain’t what I want.”

He smirked and bent down, “You want Arthur.”

“That’s right.” She whispered before his lips captured hers one last time. He pulled away from her and stood up, grabbing onto her hands and hoisting her up onto her feet.

“And what if I want you?”

She felt her heart clench a little bit at the thought, “And what about Ms. O’Shea?”

He chuckled and began to dress himself, “And what ‘bout her?”

Rose looked to the bath, wanting to at least clean herself a bit more before leaving. She crawled back into the bath, though the water was much cooler, “Dutch, that woman would probably skin me alive if she knew ‘bout this. And I’d rather not piss her off.”

“She’s a fiery one, that’s for sure.” He laughed and slowly buttoned up his shirt, “My offer still stands, Rose. Should you change your mind. You know where to find me.”

She looked up at him, blushing, “What do ya think ya have that Arthur doesn’t?”

He came down beside the tub, looking at her eye level, “An undyin’ love and affection.” He reached his hand out and cupped the side of her face, running his thumb along her bottom lip, “I doubt Arthur could say the same.”

“Thought ya didn’t like doubters, Dutch.”

He chuckled and pulled away, slipping on his vest before heading out the door, “See you at the camp, Rose.” The door shut leaving her alone in the room, though she’d probably need to get out soon. She sat there and leaned back, she didn’t love Dutch and it’s not like she could tell Arthur, not when she knew he still had a soft spot for Ms. Mary Gillis...damn bitch.

_Lucky Bitch..._

Rose sighed and finished cleaning herself up and getting dressed back into her clothes. They’d probably never let her in there again once they see the mess she caused. She hurried out of the motel and into the streets of Valentine. Her eyes went over to the Saloon, wanting to stop for a quick drink. As she turned and went to go up the stairs, the sound of glass broke as someone came flying out the window. Rose stopped for a moment realizing who had fallen onto the ground. A bigger man came out and pushed her out of the way, making his way towards Arthur.

“C’mere pretty boy.”

Rose stood up quickly and watched as Arthur stood up, sounding pissed off, “Pretty boy? Pretty boy!” a smile played along her lips, Arthur could always handle himself in a fight. She stood there watching them punch and hit at each other, up until the one guy fell and Arthur began to pound into his face. A man from the bar came out, hurrying as he could to stop Arthur, begging and pleading with him. Rose walked over and picked up Arthur’s hat, wiping some of the dirt of it as she walked over to him.

“Pretty boy, huh? I like it.” She smirked.

Arthur reached over and grabbed onto his hat, “Don’t you start.” She walked with him through the streets, as they walked back over to his horse. “Wait, where’s—“  

“M’horse? At Camp.”

Arthur looked down at her, “Why you in town without her?”

“I thought I’d enjoy the walk, which I did. So if you’d like to help a lady out—“

“I would not—“ he went to protest.

“I would greatly appreciate your kind help, sir in gettin’ me home.”

He looked at her with his hard and edged eyes, always looking so damn pissed off. Though underneath it all, there was a good man. At least she thought so, convincing Arthur of that was a hard chore. Finally he sighed and climbed up onto his horse, reaching his hand down, “I ain’t got all day, Rose.”

“What a gentleman—“

“Get on!” his voice was deep and raspy. Rose grabbed onto his hand as she climbed behind him and rested her hands on his waist, sitting real close. They slowly made their way out of Valentine, heading back towards camp, Rose resting her head against his back.

“This is nice. It’s a nice town. Though you beatin’ up people ain’t gonna help our cause, Arthur.”

“He started it.” he chuckled for a moment, “they call ‘em Big Tommy. Guess he ain’t so big now.”

“Sure looked like ya took him down a peg.” She smiled feeling how warm Arthur felt beneath his shirt as she laid there listening to his heart beat. It was nice, calm, he was human underneath it all. She laughed softly.

“What you laughin’ ‘bout back there?”

“You’re a stubborn man, Arthur Morgan.”

The sound of his laughter echoed in his chest and hearing it made her smile so, “We ain’t much different you and I. I mean other than you stealin’ everyone’s shit—“

“Now now, Mr. Morgan. Not everyone’s—“

“Just mine.” He shook his head. Rose’s eyes wandering along the valley as they moved forward.

“Dutch—does...does he seem different to ya?”

The conversation seemed like one that Arthur didn’t want to have, but seemed to have an understanding of what she meant. “I don’t know. Asked him what happened on the boat  back in Blackwater but...he didn’t really have an answer.I asked Javier and was told he—he killed a girl...”

“That—don’t seem like something Dutch would do—“ Rose nodded her head, why would he kill in cold blood? That was never Dutch’s way...

“I know. But it’s okay. Dutch’ll get us out of this mess. He always has a plan.”

“Maybe I’m wrong but... He’s not the same from when me and Agatha knew him. If we even knew him at all...” her hands snaked around him, moving closer.

“What you on ‘bout?”

“Just some nonsense.” She wanted to remain quiet for whatever time they had together left before reaching the camp. Perhaps it was silly how much she loved this man and how much she couldn’t even tell him. She may love Arthur, but he still loved Mary. She knew most of the story, grinning and bearing it when he would talk about her. He needed to talk and she’d let him and never held it against him. Love is a tricky thing.

They trotted back into camp and stopped to hitch his horse. Rose hopped off the back, “Thanks for the ride, Arthur.” He nodded his head and walked over to Dutch, but as Rose looked over, Dutch’s eyes caught hers.

She wasn’t his and yet he kept acting like it. A feeling of uneasiness came over her as she stood there for a few minutes before she walked over to the O’Driscoll they had tied up. She lit up a cigarette and looked at him, “Ya have a name boy?”

He looked up at her, “It—it’s Kieran. Look Miss, I ain’t an O’Driscoll—“

Rose laughed, “Then why you runnin’ with ‘em? They’re bad people boy. Monsters.” She gritted her teeth, “real bad—“

“You ain’t no different. The lot of ya—“

“You little—“ She felt someone grab her wrist and looked to see Arthur.

“Easy there. Need him to talk—“ Arthur turned his attention to Kieran, “You got some speaking to do of your own...about that old gang of yours.”

“I said...I told you...I don’t know nothing.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Dutch’s voice echoed over Arthur’s, “Whoa, hold your horses there...” he said walking over to the three of them, “It seems the cat has got our friend here’s tongue. I was thinkin’ Mr. Williamson could have a word.”

“You ready to talk boy?”

“I told you mister. I told all of you. I don’t know nothing, okay? They-they ain’t no friends of mine. I just been ridden with them for a while.”

“Boy, it would be a lot easier, if ya just tell us.” Rose looked at Kieran, “unless you enjoy losing a few...body parts?”

Bill looked over to Dutch, “What do you want me to do?”

“Hurt him. So the next time he opens his mouth...It is to tell us what is goin’ on. Ah...who am I kiddin’?” Dutch got real close to Kieran’s face, “one of O’Driscoll’s boys couldn’t open his mouth...but he’d tell a lie. Screw it. Let’s just have some fun...”

Rose gasped, “OH! Lemme tie him to the back of my horse and drag him down the road.” She smirked tilting his face to look at hers, “It would be so much fun and dirty.”

“No, no---“ Dutch smirked as Arthur pulled her back, “Geld him.”

“Oh yeah!” Bill said excitedly and hurried off.

Kieran looked very concerned, “What’s he doin’, where’s he goin’?”

“Oh, don’t worry...” Dutch walked over and pulled down Kieran’s pants, exposing him, “they’re only balls boy... just gonna cause you trouble.”

Rose turned away not wanting to really look, “Hope ya don’t want kids...” she snickered and looked over at Arthur.

Dutch kept on talking, “You know, in Imperial Rome...eunuchs was among the happiest...and most loyal of courtiers.”

“No, no, no, no. You’’re kiddin’ me right.” Bill walked over with the molten hot snippers, putting them right near his crotch, “You sick bastards! What do you want from me?”

“Well, you’re going to talk. The only question is now... or after we got these little fellers off?”

Kieran started to yell, “Okay! Okay! Listen. I know where O’Driscoll’s holed up...and you’re right...he don’t like you. Any more than you like him. He’s at Six Point Cabin.” Bill groaned unhappily, “I’ll take you there. Serious. I don’t like him. I mean, I like him even less than I like you. No offense.”

“Oh, none taken.” Dutch laughed.

Arthur looked over at Kieran, “Okay partner. Why don’t you take a few of us up there...right now. I got this, Dutch. Should be fun.” Kieran was untied, Arthur patting hard on his back and pushing him forward, “Come on, let’s go you.”

Rose followed Arthur as they walked over to the horses, “I’m comin’ with ya. So I hope you ain’t gonna fight me on this.”

Arthur smirked, “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He turned his attention back to Kieran, “Let’s both hope you ain’t trying to trick us, O’Driscoll.”

“I ain’t no O’Driscoll.”

“But you sure as shit was. John, Bill, come here...” they hurried over to the horses, “we got a social call needs making. Where we headin’?”

“Uh—up into the hills behind Valentine. I’ll show you.”

Rose walked with Arthur up to his horse.

“John you take this little rattlesnake with you...any nonsense, kill him.” He turned to look at Kieran for a moment before hopping up on his horse, Arthur reached his hand down and pulled Rose up onto the back, “We’re gonna pay your buddies our respects.” She grabbed onto her pistol, checking it. As they galloped off from the camp and into the valley.

“Ya think Colm’s gonna be there? Cause if so...I wanna be the one to put a bullet in the fuckers head.”

“He better be there. Or else our friend here is in for some trouble.”

Bill yelled out, “Morgan. You got throwing knives in your saddle bag. Dutch said you might...I was asked to give them...” Rose looked over to Bill, “and I’m doin’ you the further courtesy of tellin’ you ‘bout it.”

Arthur groaned, “Next time you wanna give me something, how about you give it to me? ‘Stead of hidin’ it somewhere, hoping the opportunity comes up to mention it.”

“Last goddamn favour I do you.”

She laughed against Arthur’s back, sometimes men could be real stupid. Especially Bill. They went through the valley, Kieran leading the group of them to Six Point Cabin and John not seeming to damn happy about Kieran sitting behind him. Arthur spoke up, “How you holdin’ up, John?”

“Fine. Still ain’t right, but I’m fine.”

“You damn well should be after all that bed rest.”

“Hey, alright, Abigail wouldn’t let me up...you know her...she won’t be reasoned with.”

“Well, when you was having a failure of reason...and hidin’ behind your woman...we were gettin’ shot at.”

Rose hit Arthur lightly, “Bunch of moanin’ men, yous are.”

“I’d do the same for you...if you was in a bad way...”

“I hope so, but I fear you don’t know how to help anyone...excepting yourself.”

“You see, O’Driscoll? If this is how he treats his friends, imagine what he does to his enemies.”

“I got an inkling of what you all do to your enemies when you put those gelding tongs to my parts.” Kieran laughed nervsouly.

Rose heard Arthur chuckle, “Bill, you still got those tongs?”

“I got a knife. Won’t be so clean, but it’ll do the job.”

“Keep that in mind, young feller. Right at the forefront of it.” 

“I swear...I promise. I’m taking you to Colm as best as I can. You’ll see. I’ll make good.”

Rose turned her attention to Arthur, “When we get there, I’ll scout ahead. Then you can keep an eye on him, make sure there’s no funny business.”

“Or you could stay with the rest of us and raid the damn place.”

“Arthur...I don’t think ya understand how much I want Colm O’Driscoll dead. I don’t think ya can even begin to understand.” Arthur kept his eyes ahead, but he could feel the grip around his waist get tighter, “I was close before, Arthur. He won’t get away again. He has to pay for what he did to Agatha...”

“We’re here—“ Kieran said. They all climbed off the horses as Kieran began to walk, “Follow me, alright? It ain’t far.”

John looked over to him, “We might’a shared a horse, but we ain’t friends. Remember, I’m watching you. Every moment.” Rose walked with the others over to the edge, looking over the cabin.”

“I ain’t gonna shop you now, come on. It’d be suicide.”

“You’ll die, boy. But you’ll lose your balls first.” Bill threatened.  

“Jesus Christ...”

Rose shook her head, “Got some mighty thoughts ‘bout them balls, Bill. Somethin’ you ain’ttellin’ us?”

“Oh shut up—“ He shot her over a glare, if only looks could kill. They all crouched down looking over the cabin.

“There’s the cabin down there. There’ll be a bunch of fellers hiding out there too.”

“Are these fellers armed?” Arthur looked at Kieran for a moment.

“Armed. Drunk. Wary of Strangers. Yup.”

“Colm O’Driscoll?”

“Oh, he’ll be holed up in his cabin. Be passed out, booze blind, likely as not.”

Bill pointed as a few men walked through the forest, chatting about. “So uh, who’s gonna tell him we ain’t got nothing for the pot?”

“Uh, let me think...Feller that spooked the game, I reckon.”

“I’m gonna drain it. I—I’ll catch up.”

“Nah, we ain’t gonna fall for that...we’re gonna wait, so you can tell him yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” They watched as the one guy stopped to take a piss. They looked between themselves before Rose, pushed past them.

“Lemme handle it.”

Arthur wanted to protest, but nodded his head, “Alright. Remember, quiet.”

Rose chuckled, “And since when has that ever worked out for you fellers? Huh?” she winked playfully and slowly made her way down to the guy taking a piss. She snuck up and shoved her knife into his throat and made her way over to the two men standing beside each other.

She snuck up quietly and stood up, “Excuse me gentlemen—“ They turned as she pulled out her pistol and put a bullet into the one’s head. Her knife going into the others, “Was just gonna ask for a light.”

The others came down, Arthur grabbing onto her arm and pulling her down as they all snuck forward, “What about the feller on the log?”

Arthur looked over to John, “You go. Get your hands dirty for a change.” John snuck up and quickly the knife went into the guys neck, with swiftness and precision. Clearly John had done this before, “Jesus...”

“You told ‘em to get his hands dirty, Arthur...what did you expect? That he’d be bad at this?” She pulled out her pistol and reloaded it.

“Time to move on ‘em.” Arthur said to everyone, as they readied their weapons.

Rose heard John in the distance, “How you doin’ O’Driscolls?”

She hurried out from cover trying to find a better vantage point as she shot off her gun, hitting a few in the head. Then everything got loud as bullets went flying back and forth. John and Bill yelling out as their guns fired off with more men coming out through the trees. If there was ever a shortage of something Colm did have, it was never men. Bullet flew past Rose as she made her way to more cover, shooting down a few men. Up until one tackled her to the ground, his fist making contact with her face.

“Aren’t ya a lively one!?”she blocked her face as much as she could, reaching down for her knife, which wasn’t in its holster.

“Get off me—“ she gritted through her teeth, her fist finally making contact with his nose as he pulled back. A gun sounded off as he fell down onto the ground. Arthur came over and reached his hand down.

“Gonna damage that pretty face of yours.” Finally it was silent, no more gun shots.

Rose smirked and wiped the blood away from her mouth, before she grabbed onto his hand and pulled herself up, “And here I was thinkin’ scars were the latest fashion.” She looked around seeing no one else, “Guess they ran.”

Arthur nodded his head, “Colm is still here. Come on. Let’s go check the cabin.”

“You go in the front, I’ll check ‘round, make sure he can’t sneak out.”

Arthur walked over to the front of the cabin and as he went to open the door a man pushed him down, pointing a gun at him.

Rose heard a gunshot and ran over to Arthur, seeing him pulling himself up, a dead man on the porch and Kieran holding a gun.

“You alright?” Kieran asked.

Arthur laid back down on the porch, “Sure, thank you.” Rose walked over, waiting for Arthur to stand up as they walked into the cabin.

“Goddamn it! He ain’t here, Arthur.” She pushed past Arthur and went to find Kieran, “You come here boy.” She saw him outside the cabin, “This was a set up, wasn’t it boy? Tryin’ to get us all killed?”

“No, I wasn’t. I swear.”

“Colm ain’t here.” Rose held up her gun, glaring at him.

Kieran began to yell, fear edging on his voice, “He was here, I swear, I sw— If I was settin’ you up, I—I wouldn’t have saved Arthur’s life.”

Bill and John came walking over, “It’s a good point.”

Rose put her gun down and looked to Arthur, as he talked with Kieran, “Alright then, go on, get out of here.”

“What?”

“I won’t kill ya.”

“I didn’t set you up.” Was he trying to stick around with the lot of them?

Arthur yelled, “Get lost.”

“Get lost?”

Arthur grabbed onto the collar of Kieran’s shirt, “I’m lettin’ you run away... now go on. Get out of here.”

“That’s as good as killin’ me! Out there...without you...Colm O’Driscoll is gonna lose his mind about this.”

Rose laughed, “Oh man. What you gettin’ at boy?”

“I’m one of you now.”

Arthur groaned and sighed, “Give me a break.”

More laughter erupted from her as she started to head back to the horses, “Ain’t my choice Arthur...Ya’ll have fun with that. I’ll be at the horse’s if ya need me.” There was some pain in her face as she walked back and lit up a smoke as she waited for Arthur to return. She saw his figure walking in the distance back towards her.

“Least we got some of his money.” Arthur said handing over some of it to Rose.

“But we ain’t got Colm. And that’s what I want.” She sighed inhaling most of her smoke, “Gettin’ real tired of this goddamn goose chase.”

Arthur placed his hand on her shoulder, “We’ll get him. If we don’t, the law will—“

“Then they’ll get us. Or Dutch. But...Dutch always has a plan...” She went quiet for a moment, before Arthur stood in front of her and pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

“Let’s get back to camp.” He looked down at her, looking at her eyes, how much sorrow was lingering within them. She always tried to keep strong, but sometimes, it didn’t work. Her hands latched onto his jacket as she pulled him close, her lips pressing deeply against his. A groan sounded from him, pulling her close. Arthur stopped and rested his forehead against hers, “We ain’t got time...They’ll be back. What’s left of ‘em.”

“I know. Ain’tnothin’ wrong with kissin’ ya.” He climbed up onto his horse and pulled her up, as she sat behind him, her hands resting on his waist. As they headed out of the area, she turned to look behind at the massacre of bodies, “This life...it ain’t gonna get easier, will it?”

“I reckon not.” He whispered back as she rested her head against his back, listening to the sound of his heart beating. Starting to think that one day, when that day came, that it wouldn’t and there would be nothing but silence. They rode back to the camp in silence, the sun felt warm against her skin and finally roll up her sleeves. The memories of Agatha lingered in her, she missed her awful bad, missed having someone to confide in. Agatha was smart, resourceful, had been since a young age.

But when they had their run in with Colm...

Things changed.

Rose closed her eyes for a moment, wanting some rest. The horse galloped through the valley and made it to camp after some time. Arthur went to say something when he felt the dead weight on his back, and some light snoring. Arthur chuckled, “Must’ve fallen asleep...” he hopped off his horse and pulled her down, carrying her over to her bed. Ms. Grimshaw hurried over to him.

“She alright, Mr. Morgan?”

“She’s just fine, Ms. Grimshaw. Just tired.” He said as he placed her down on her bed, brushing away her bangs from her face, “real tired...” he whispered looking at Rose’s face and for once, it looked peaceful. She slept for a little while, a few hours, up until Lenny came rushing into the camp, freaking out.

“They got Micah! Dutch--They got Micah!”

Rose groaned and sat up in her bed, Arthur had long gone to speak with Dutch about things. “No one cares, Lenny!” Rose yelled out and crawled out of bed, briskly walking over to Lenny, Dutch and Arthur “ ‘Bout time that prick rotted in jail--"

“Whoa, whoa, there,” Dutch placed his hands on her shoulders, “calm down.” He turned his attention back to Lenny. “who has Micah?”

“He was in Strawberry...He’s wanted for murder--"

“Well ain't that a damn shame. Micah did this to himself, eh? Let him rot, Dutch.”

“Rose--" Dutch looked over at her.

“It ain't worth it--"

Dutch got close to her, his eyes glaring into hers, “we don’t leave others behind.”

She smirked, “That so, Dutch? Well I ain’t bustin' his sorry ass out.” Arthur looked at Dutch.

Dutch smiled and laughed, patting Lenny on his shoulder, “its okay son, breathe… We'll get him out.”

“They nearly lynched me. He's in the sheriff’s in Strawberry. There's talk of hangin' him.”

“Here's hoping…” Arthur said and Dutch turned to glare at him.

“Arthur--"

“He's got a point, Dutch--"

“Both of you stop it. You think I can’t see past the bluster to the heart inside? He is a fine man.”

Rose laughed and shook her head, “he’s full of shit, Dutch.”

Dutch looked over to Arthur, but he didn’t like where that was going, “No, I ain’t savin' that fool.” Arthur went to walk away, Rose starting to as well before Dutch's voice sounded over them.

“I can't go. My face will be all over West Elizabeth. I am asking. He would do it for you.”

“I don’t think he would, but…” Arthur sighed and waved his hand, “Fine, alright.”

Arthur walked over to Lenny and started chatting with him with Dutch finally saying, “Take him into town. Valentine not Strawberry. Get him drunk. And no crazy business, Arthur.”

“I’ve given that up.” He patted Lenny's shoulder and motioned him to follow. Rose stood there for a few minutes watching before Lenny waved her over. She hurried over and stood, looking up at him.

“Ain’t you comin'?”

She tilted her head down to look at her breasts, “Last time I checked, I wasn't one of the boys.”

“You’re pretty damn close--" Arthur laughed deep.

“Haven't gotten a chance to know ya. Would be nice.”

Rose smiled and walked to her horse, climbing up, “Fine by me. Gotta say though, ya’ll will forget ‘bout me after a few shots.”

Arthur looked over at her, smiling for a moment. “You'd never let us forget. That I know.”

Rose stuck her tongue out before they began to make their way towards Valentine. The skies were bright and blue today, good day to get drunk. Rose wasn’t much of a drinker though and for good reason. They went along the path and heading towards the Saloon, finally reaching their destination. Rose climbed off her horse and hitched it, “Now, Pretty boy...ya better stay out of trouble.”

Arthur groaned and climbed off his horse, “ ‘Nough of that shit, Rose.” He walked over to her as Lenny got off his horse and waited at the doors, Arthur came close looking down at her, “Either drink or get lost.”

Rose bit her bottom lip and dusted off some dirt from Arthur’s jacket, “Hate seein’ ya all flustered. Kinda cute.”

“I ain’t—“ Arthur growled.

Her eyes watched his as she spoke out, to the both of them, “First rounds on me, boys.” She latched her arm around his as they walked into the Saloon. The Bartender immediately recognizing Arthur.

“Now we don’t want no trouble.”

Rose pulled away and walked over to the bar, “And ya shan’t get none, m’good sir.” She smiled and placed down, $1.50, “3 shots of whiskey.”

The Bartender poured 3 shots, Lenny, Arthur and Rose shooting back just as quick as they came. Rose had a few more shots before finally stopping. Whatever she had consumed, was nowhere near the amount the boys had. At one point during the night, she had turned her head to talk to Arthur and well, he just wasn’t there. Neither was Lenny.

“S-shit—“ she pulled away from the bar, still mildly coherent but drunk as she walked around the bar, trying not to stumble, undoing the first button of her blouse, it was goddamn hot in the place,“ S’cuse me, have you seen my friends? Tall guy, moody face—Name is—Arthur—other guy—Lenny.“

“Nah lady, ain’t seen ‘em.”

She nodded her head and made her way up the stairs, yelling out, “Arthur! Lenny—“ Everything felt like it was spinning, she just about died when she felt someone grab her, “Mister if ya value—“

“It’s me, darlin’—“ she turned seeing Arthur, he was drunk alright.

“Where is—Lenny—“ she was trying to find her words.

Arthur laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, “I ain’t been able to find him.”

She held onto Arthur as they walked through the bar, “Lenny!” He yelled out before he fell and pinned Rose against the wall. Though it made a warmth spread throughout and between her legs. There was still no sight of Lenny though.

“Arthur—“ she whispered.

He hummed deep in his throat looking down at her, “A mighty fine woman...” his hands slid along her sides . His drunken eyes looking at hers, for a moment the sound of everyone else and the music all faded. Leaving just the two of them. He pressed her into the wall, getting as close as he could before his lips pressed deeply against hers, tender and almost...loving. A moan sounded from her, which urged on the kissing and groaning from him. Rose cupped his face pulling him away to look at him.

“Arthur—I need to tell ya somethin’—“

“Get off the bar!” a voice cut her off as they heard a few men yell and hurried over, to find Lenny on top.

Arthur stumbled over, “Get away from him!” he grabbed onto Lenny and pulled him back down. Ordering some more drinks afterwards. Rose walked over to Arthur, his arm once again wrapping around her shoulders, as he handed her a drink, “Go on—“ he whispered against her ear.

“Mr. Morgan, are you trying to make sure I can’t walk?” Drunken bastard, still turning her on.

He laughed, “Ain’t nothin’ gonna--happen to ya. I won’t-- let it come to that.” She shot back the drink, Arthur and Lenny laughing, the whiskey seemed to burn more this time as she swallowed it. The drunken haze she had worn off some while trying to keep an eye on both Arthur and Lenny. Which again...she had lost sight of.

“Goddamn it!” she hit her fist down on the wood of the bar and pulled herself away. Walking slowly, perhaps shooting back that last one wasn’t a good idea. She walked through the crowd of people trying to find Arthur and Lenny. And again, found Arthur stumbling around, he came up to her. Staggering and swaying.

“S’cuse me miss. Have you seen my friend, Lenny? And my friend, Rose. I can’t seem to find ‘em.” 

She placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to stead him, “Arthur—It’s me. Rose.”

He squinted his eyes at her, “Certainly don’t look like her...”

“W-what—It’s me. Dear lord you’re drunken blind. Ya fool...” She grabbed onto him, “Come on—let’s go check upstairs—“

“He ain’t—ain’t up there. Does everyone look the same to ya?”

Rose looked around, seeing all people of both colors, “Arthur, I think ya’ve had too much. Why don’t ya sit—“ he pulled away from her frantically and headed out the back door of the Saloon.

“LENNY!” he yelled out. Rose chasing after him the best she could, she looked up and down the alley way and saw nothing. Until he came running back towards her, his hand grabbing onto hers as he pulled her along, “Best be runnin’—“

“What did—you do, Arthur Morgan!?” She turned her head, seeing a few people chasing them, “piss off the law, already?”

“Found Lenny—with the law—“

“Ya left him!?”

“Ah he’ll be fine. Did nothin’ wrong.”

They hopped over the fence and through the fields. Arthur laughing and smiling, was this supposed to be amusing to him? To her? Kind of was. After some time the law gave up and were finally able to stop, and take a breather. Arthur sat down on the ground near a tree and tried to light up a smoke. Rose sat down beside him.

“Giver here—“ she grabbed the match from him and lit it up, pressing it to the tip of the smoke, “Gonna light yourself on fire, if ya ain’t careful.”

Arthur smiled and laughed as he leaned against her, “You worry—too much, darlin’—“

Rose nodded her head, grabbing the smoke from Arthur and inhaling some of it. They sat there in the silence, the night sky filled with stars, “It’s pretty. Don’t get to see much of the sky in the city. All that smoke and fog.”

“What was you gonna tell me earlier?”

“It ain’t nothin’.” But it was something. Something she just didn’t have the heart to tell him. Even with her having the liquid courage to do so.

Arthur looked down at her hands and grabbed onto one of them, rubbing the pad of his thumb along her skin, “Why ain’t you runned off and gotten married yet?”

She laughed softly, “Never met the right man, Arthur. Was easier to live this life.”

“It ain’t a life.” He looked sad for a moment, wondering if he was thinking about Mary, “Love anyone?”

“I do. I just—uh—I don’t think he’d love me back.”

He smirked and inhaled some more smoke, “It’s Dutch, ain’t it?”

“Lord no. It ain’t him. He’s got Miss O’Shea, and I’m pretty sure she wants to skin me alive...”

He laughed and still holding onto her hand, “I--wanted to know.” He turned his head to look at her, his eyes dazed, “You said---yous been sweet on me.”

“What of it?” Her eyes went over to his, somehow even with it being cooler out in the field, she felt hot and bothered.

“It is—me?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, “I guess, I might as well tell ya. ‘Cause...ya sure as hell ain’t gonna remember any of this...” He pulled on her arm, wanting her close. Her eyes looking up at his, “I’ve loved ya for a—a very long time.” She laughed sadly, “perhaps I’m a bigger fool than you.”

His hand went up to her face, before he pressed his lips against hers. The taste of whiskey and tobacco lingered between the two of them. She stood up and undid the buckle to her pants. Grateful that her coat was long enough to hide the naked backside of her from any on lookers.

Arthur smirked with that charming yet drunken smile, “What you doin’?”

She pulled her feet out from her boots and then slid down her pants, “What does it look like?” she smiled as she came down and straddled his hips, her hands working at his belt and pants. He moved her hands and worked at his pants a lot quicker, pulling out his throbbing cock. Her hips hovered above his before he pushed her down onto him, feeling a searing heat wrap around him, “Ah—fuck—“ she moaned out.

“Rose—“ A groan sounded from him as she pushed him down onto his back, riding him slowly. His hands slid along her thighs, her jacket was still on, along with her blouse and neck tie, but pulled her down and fucked her slowly. His pants hung around his hips as he thrust up against hers. She felt wet and hot, moving in and out of her, “Goddamn—“ he groaned and captured her lips. Her arms rested down on both sides of his head, her fingers dancing through his hair as she kissed him back.

“Arthur—“

Their moans echoed throughout the night sky and when they had finished she laid with Arthur for a while. Up until he decided to wander off, Rose groaned and went to grab the horses, “Goose chasin’ time.” She grabbed the horses, seeing that Lenny’s was already gone. Hoping that maybe he had managed to get back safely. She hopped on her horse and held onto Arthur’s by the reins as she trotted along the roads, catching up with him, as he staggered along the road. Yelling at anyone or anything that got in his way. She smiled and shook her head, “Lord knows he can be a prick sometimes—“ He finally settled under a tree, which was conveniently not too far from camp. She took the horses back to camp and then headed back out to where Arthur was, grabbing the blanket off her horse and taking it with her. He was fast asleep by the time she got back to him, as she spread out the blanket and laid down on it, a few feet away from him. Her eyes looked around at the stars that glittered throughout the sky.

“I hope it doesn’t rain tonight...” she muttered to herself.

 

Rose had awoken before Arthur did. As she heard him moaning and groaning, “Arthur Morgan you—you idiot--“ he grumbled to himself and looked around still groaning, before he saw Rose sat down at the campfire she had made for herself.

“Mornin’ sunshine. Enjoy last night?”

He groaned touching his head for a moment as he walked over to her, “Stop yellin’—“

Rose chuckled and shook her head, dowsing out the campfire before walking over to Arthur, “Come on,” she placed her hand on his arm, “let’s get some coffee in ya.” She patted his arm as they walked back over to camp, which wasn’t too far away.

“I—I don’t remember much of last night.”

_Thank the lord...._

Rose smiled to herself, “You two buggered off on me…lots. Be surprised how hard it is to find two people in that goddamn buildin’.”

As they walked back into camp, Ms.Grimshaw called out to Arthur, “Mr.Morgan, I need to speak with ya for a moment and Ms.Reeds--"

“Yes, Ms.Grimshaw?”

“Dutch is lookin' for ya.”

“ ‘Course he is--" Rose grumbled to herself and stood there as Arthur walked away, hearing a bit of what Ms.Grimshaw was saying to him.

“Mr.Morgan… I saw that Mary Gillis poking ‘round here the other day… I don’t like her, there’s somethin’ ‘bout her that ain’t right.”

Of course Mary came by, why wouldn’t she? Did that mean she was in Valentine? Rose shook off the feelings and walked over to Dutch's tent, looking for him, only to find Ms. O'Shea. Working on something or other, “is Dutch ‘round?”

“He ain’t. And don’t ask me where he's gone “

Rose sighed, “always a pleasure, Molly…” she turned away from his tent and began to walk around the camp, trying to figure out where he went. She walked along the camp grounds and out a bit till she saw Dutch leaning against the tree. “Ya know--"

Dutch jumped and turned around, “Rose—“ he laughed for a moment, “tryin' to kill me?”

She chuckled and walked over to him, “Nah Dutch. If I wanted ya dead, would’ve already happened. What did ya want?”

“A favour--"

“Is it like the favour that happened in the motel? Cause I ain’t doin' that.”

Dutch looked at her and reached his hand out for a moment to brush away from hair behind her ear, “As fun as that’d be…I need you to head to Strawberry.”

Rose pulled back, “for what? For Micah? No. Bastard can rot—”

Dutch seemed annoyed with her attitude, “Rose, now is not the time to be stubborn. Just go to Strawberry and check on him. It's all I’m askin'.”

“You’re askin' a lot, Dutch.”She watched him as he came close, “I don’t think ya understand how much I dislike that man.”

“Don't make me beg, Rose--" he whispered.

As much as she'd like to see that… “Fine. But don't say I never done anythin’ for ya.”

He smiled softly, his ruggish features disappearing for a moment, “Thank you.”

She nodded her head and walked back over to her horse, Arthur came over as she climbed up as she sighed, “Gotta go visit Micah. For the life of me, I don’t know why. But Dutch has asked me--"

Arthur groaned, “Look, I can go—I know you and Micah don't--"

She waved her hand, “Naw, it’ll be good for me.” She smiled softly and looked down, seeing a letter in his hand, “Mary come a callin', did she?”

“She's in Valentine.” He looked remorseful, for a moment, “Said she needs—needs my help.”

_Course she does…_

_Goddamn… don’t let it bother you._

“Should probably see what she wants….” She couldn’t let him hear the jealousy in her voice, “I’ll be back soon, Arthur…”

He grabbed onto her hand for a moment, squeezing it tightly, “Careful out there.”

“Always am.” She smiled and began to make her way out and camp and to the roads. The thought of Arthur having to see Mary Gillis made her blood boil. But how could she compete? He was gonna marry her and then well…things went to shit. It’s not like she'd understand, never been engaged once in her life. But she'd been in love, many times. Dutch loved her but…there was always something about him that made her, uneasy.

It was a straight shot, from the camp over to Strawberry and was in no hurry what so ever to get there. The weather went from blue skies to grey before it started to pour down about half way there, soaking her to the bone.

“Shit—“ she groaned out as they continued their way there, though it was warm out, she felt cold. Why did she agree to do this in the first place? Also why did Dutch ask her? Many questions ran through her mind as Lily’s hooves hit hard against the ground, moving as fast as she could, “come on, girl—“ so what if they were talking about hanging Micah, he deserved it.

Micah is a rat and she learned that the hard way after Colm O’Driscoll found her and Agatha again. He sold her out and even though she wasn’t surprised that he did…it resulted in Agatha’s death. Even at the camp, he didn’t seem to care all that much about her, either he doesn’t remember, or he’s a son of a bitch. Rose at long last reached Strawberry as she trotted into town, taking her dear sweet time looking for the sheriff’s. Small town, seemed peaceful enough, to some degree. She hitched her horse outside of the sheriff’s and walked up to the stairs into the building. A few men looked at her for a moment.

“What ya want, Miss?”

“You the sheriff?” Rose asked.

“Only goddamn one with a badge.” He grimaced and spit into a pot.

She shook her head, trying to play it up the best she could, “Look y’all got m’husband locked up down there. Micah Bell—“ She took a moment, not really enjoying any of this, “can I see him?”

“That thing down there, is married to you?” He didn’t sound all that convinced, “Gonna swing for what he did.”

“Good.” She said calmly. The sheriff looked at her funny, “can I see him?”

“Ain’t you supposed to be more upset ‘bout this?”

Rose smirked and walked over to the sheriff, though he didn’t seem worried or panicked…how stupid of him, “Far as I know, it ain’t your place to tell me how I’m supposed to feel. Now--Ya gonna keep stallin’? Or can I see m’husband?”

“Take her down.” He looked to one of the boys as he lead her downstairs. There were two cells. Micah and some other guy were in one, but he had knocked out the other guy.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of havin’ to deal with your sorry ass?” Micah lifted his head slightly, glaring at her.

“Well shit, I don’t need to be here, Micah. Let ya rot for all I fuckin’ care.” She walked over to the cell and stared down at him, feeling angry.

“ ‘Course he’d send you to get me out—“

She laughed, “I ain’t here to bail you out. I came to check on ya, cause Dutch was beggin’—“

Micah came up to the bars, “and was he beggin between your legs—“ Rose reached her hand in quickly and grabbed onto the collar of his shirt, pulling him hard against the metal. The sound was loud as it echoed in the small space. He groaned for a moment, but then he smiled, “What, sweetheart? Hit a hard spot did I?”

“You’re a rat, Micah. A goddamn rat. So I’d like ya to tell me—“ she moved close to the bars, her eyes digging into his, “What did Colm offer ya in exchange for me and Agatha? What made the rat sing like a goddamn canary?”

“Well, ain’t that my business there—“ he laughed, “coulda gave me something and maybe I wouldn’t have told him nothin’.”

“Got my sister killed cause I wouldn’t fuck ya?” The pistol on her side was feeling heavy…so very heavy. She could pull it out and be done with this shit, “I really hope Arthur let’s ya rot in here. You can die…for all I care.”

“That ain’t nice, Rose. And after what I did for you—“

“Ya got Agatha killed, you son of a bitch!” A few angry tears slid down her face, as she looked at him, the grip on his collar was tight, “I’d pay to watch ya hang—“ she shoved him back and pulled herself away from the cell, not looking at him.

“Think anyone’s gonna protect you when I get outta here?” He laughed, the look in his eyes turning mad and terrifying, “I’m gonna take what’s owed to me, Rose. Ain’t no one gonna stop me.”

Rose turned her head to look at him. A dark feeling formed in the pit of her stomach as she looked at him and not wanting to show any of it, she left. As she came outside of the building, she ran over to her horse, her heart pounding hard and fast in her chest. Her breathing fast as she tried to move past the thought. Her hands gripped tightly onto the reins, unable to get up on her horse, “Fuckin’—prick—“ she breathed out, trying to find her composure. Rose could take care of herself, but in the end, would Dutch or Arthur side with her if Micah tried to do something? Arthur would but Dutch...

After some time she pulled herself up onto her horse and galloped out of Strawberry.The storm had blown over, leaving a cool breeze to dance through the fields as she made her way back towards Horseshoe Overlook. Not in a rush, Rose pulled back on the reins to slow down Lily. Seemed like the weather was gonna hold out for a while as she went along. Was there any hope that Arthur would leave Micah to rot? As much as she’s sure he’d like to do that, he wouldn’t do that against Dutch's wishes, “Shit—” her mind was swimming with so many thoughts, wondering if she should have killed Micah. She decided to head to Valentine, perhaps an investment of a rifle would be in her favour…if not, another pistol would do.

Valentine was busy as usual when she rode into town, hitching her horse near the general store and walking over to the gunsmiths. Her feet stopped as she saw Mary Gillis walking through the town, with two suit cases. Though Arthur wasn’t with her, who knew where he was? Rose stopped watching her for a moment and looked between the gunsmith and the Saloon.

“Goddamn it.” She walked up the stairs and into the Saloon, “2 whiskeys.”

Bartender nodded his head, and poured two shots of whiskey.

_Ya fool…why ya gettin' jealous over her?_

_That ain’t your business._

Though not really wanting to stay there... “How much for a bottle?” her eyes looked at the Bartender.

Rose headed across the way and rented a room at the motel. The man gave her a key as she walked up the stairs and to her room, holding tightly onto the bottle and walked into the room. She shut the door before opening the bottle and taking a huge swig of it. The gunsmith would be open tomorrow and there would be plenty of time. It bothered her on some level that Arthur would even bother to help Mary. Damn woman calls and he goes a running. She sat down on the floor drinking some more whiskey. He did everything for her and he was never good enough for that family. But the heart wants what the heart wants. Rose groaned and rested her head on the bed, staring up at the ceiling for hours, the sky went from blue to pink and then black. Eventually the one bottle turned into two (though she had stolen the second one before she left) and continued to drink.

A knock sounded at her door, though she didn’t want to move. Perhaps it was Micah coming to make good on his word. Her hand went down to the pistol, watching the doorknob as it turned and when the door opened she pulled out her pistol aiming it, though her vision was compromised due to  the whiskey. “Stay back, ya hear!? I—I can still shoot--" she paused looking at the guy, “Dutch?”

“Expecting someone else--?" he walked in and shut the door. His arms crossed as he looked at her and leaned against the door.

“Naw--expectin' no one--" though a part of her was hoping it was Arthur, “See Arthur ran off at Ms.Gillis's beck and call--" she stood up from the floor and sauntered over and placed the bottle down on the dresser.

“You alright, Rose?” He walked over to her and suddenly she felt small, very small. Like she was being hunted.

She drank way too damn much, “I ain’t alright…I ain't--nothin'.” Dutch looked down at her, pressing his hand against her cheek, her skin felt hot to the touch. “I can’t compete with Ms.Perfect…”

“She ain't perfect, Rose. None of us are--"

“In Arthur’s eyes she is. No matter what she's…the woman he loves. Or some shit like that.” She pulled away from Dutch, “and what ya doin' here? Stalkin' me now, are ya?” she drank back some more whiskey.

“Ain't like that, Rose.”

“What it’s like, Dutch?” she turned to face him, her cheeks red from the booze, “to pine over a woman that don't love ya? But I guess we’re the same, both loving people that don’t love us back—“

Dutch wasn’t looking too happy about what she was saying, “Better watch it, Rose--"

“Or else what? I’m not your Ms.O'Shea, Mr. Van der Linde—Ya can’t do whatever ya want--" he walked over to her closing the space between them fast, as he pinned her between him and the dresser.She gasped as he ripped open her blouse, exposing her breasts to him. Her breathing was fast with anger setting in, “get out—“

“Rose—calm down--"

“Fuck you-- Dutch--" she breathed through her teeth.

“Is that what you want?” his lips lingered above hers, “to fuck me?” he pressed his lips softly against hers, as if to test the waters. Test whether or not she'd even bother with him. She moaned softly against his lips. Feeling a sadness build up in her.

“Don’t matter what I want---” she wanted to cry, but what good would it do? Her hands began to work at his shirt, “Fuck me—I--"

_I need to forget..._

Dutch grabbed at her belt and unbuckled it before he whipped it off and threw it to the side. Her hand pulled off his vest and his shirt, sliding her hand along his chest, he felt hot to the touch. He groaned and kissed her lovingly, “you have no idea how much I want you--"

“Dutch--"

His hands went and pushed her pants down, his lips brushing against her ear, “how much I need you--" he sat her on the dresser, as she undid his pants and pulled them down, freeing his arousal from its confines. Her legs wrapped around his waist, the tip of his cock sliding inside easily before he began to fuck her hard. The dresser squeaked and creaked as he pounded into her aching core.

“Dutch!” she cried out as he held her close.

“I love you, Rose--" he whispered against her ear. And suddenly her and Arthur’s conversation echoed in her head.

_“It is—me?”_

_“It is. Loved you for a—a very long time. Perhaps I’m a bigger fool than you.”_

She cupped his face and looked at him, his hands digging into her hips, fucking her hard and fast, feeling her cunt squeeze tightly around his cock as she came. Her lips eagerly finding his as he came, his moans echoing against her.

 

They laid in the bed together, somewhat. Rose laid on her side while, Dutch leaned up against the wall, having a smoke. He moved down beside her and ran his hand along her side, “Did you see Micah?”

Rose turned her head and looked at him, before she plucked the smoke from his hand. He smirked and bent down, pressing his lips against her shoulder, “Yeah, he’s just fine, Dutch. In fact, he says we don’t need to get him out. Wouldn’t mind goin’ for a swing--"

“You’re just as bad as Arthur.” He groaned and rolled out of bed, course he wasn’t going to stay. She sat up inhaling more of the smoke, watching him.

“Dutch—can I ask ya somethin’?”

He looked over at her, “of course--"

She stood up from the bed and walked over to him, the bed sheet clinging to her body. His eyes wandered down her body before finally looking at her face and seeing something, he had never seen before.

But he couldn’t quite place it.

“Is everyone in the gang--" she was trying to find the right words, “important to ya?”

He seemed off put by the question, but none the less he answered, “I would die for them. Everyone last one of you,” her heart dropped at the speech, because…she knew he'd never do that.

“Then I can trust ya… to have m’back?”

Dutch cupped her face, “I won’t let anythin' happen to you, Rose.”

She nodded her head and pulled away from him. It was still dark out when Dutch left as she stood and looked out the window, inhaling another smoke.

Dutch may love her, but she knew. He wouldn’t be helpful when it came to Micah. Arthur…was the only one she could trust. Well him and Charles. She hadn’t been able to gauge much on John or the rest of them for that matter. Her eyes stared out the window, looking around at the people that we’re on the street. Most of them drunkards and a few stragglers. But she watched as a coach came into town, it was fancy, expensive looking and her heart dropped in her chest seeing who came out of it.

“Leviticus Cornwall?” She sat there trying to remember that name and then it hit her. The train that Dutch and them went to rob, belonged to him. She pulled her self away from the window and changed back into her clothing, grabbing her things as quickly as she could, though some of the drunkenness had worn off…she was still pretty drunk. Why was Leviticus here? Maybe he knew where Dutch was. Whatever the case, she needed to warn the others. She grabbed her things and walked down the hallway, hearing a few gentlemen talking downstairs, near the only way out of the damn place. Her feet creaked along the floor as she made her way down the stairs, listening to them talk.

“Need the finest room you have.”

 

“Certainly sir, not a problem.”

“Also my associates and I are looking for someone…his name is Dutch Van Der Linde. Runs a gang.” She watched as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, though she couldn’t see what it was from there, “You seen this man?”

Rose stood there, though she couldn’t stay there forever, eventually they’d come up her way. She took a deep breathe and walked down the stairs, dropping off the key at the front, “Thank ya for your, kind service.” She smiled softly and slowly made her way past the group of men, some of them looking at her funny. Her breathing was light, as she made it outside, there were a lot more men standing outside of the motel. Her feet felt heavy as she walked over to her horse, “S’okay girl…” she whispered and climbed up and began to trot away from town. About a few minutes outside of Valentine, she looked behind her and saw a couple men on horses following her and a couple moving up on the either side of her.

“Come on girl—“ she hit her feet against the sides of her horse and began to gallop down the road. She couldn’t lead them back to camp and headed down the along the train tracks. The men still following her, it wasn’t until someone shot at her that Lilly bucked back, sending Rose flying. Lily ran off, leaving Rose to disappear into the small forest as she hid behind some trees. A pain formed in her side, placing her hand on her ribs. If she broke anything, it wouldn’t bode well for her. She grabbed onto her pistol and loaded it as she waited, hearing some more gun shots sound off.

“C’mere sweetheart. Mr.Cornwall would like to have a few words with ya. Look like a gal with some information and that—is something he’s very interested in.”

“Sorry boys. I ain’t interested in havin’ a chat. Perhaps some bullets will make it more worth your while—“

“Seven of us and one of ya. Don’t be stupid, sweetheart. Odds aren’t in your favour—“

She looked around and wasn’t far off from camp, but far enough that they wouldn’t find it. She couldn’t leave them, not alive anyways. “They’re always in my favour—“ she whispered. The sound of gunshots echoed through the skies as most of the men fell down dead. The pain in her side seeming worse with her breathing as she cried out, shooting more of them, until a few stragglers made it out and headed back into town. Rose slowly disappeared into the trees and made her way back to camp, the sound of Bills voice echoing as she neared the camp.

“Who’s there!”

Rose breathed slowly holding onto her side, “It’s Rose—Bill—“ she hurried past him and into camp. “Goddamn it!” She stopped, taking a moment. Most of them were around the campfire, singing god knows what. Karen caught sight of her, smiling for a moment and walked over to her.

“Where the hell ya been—are ya drunk?” she stopped realizing something was wrong and hurried over to Rose, “you’re hurt—“ she wrapped Rose’s arm around her shoulder and walked with Rose back over to her bed, “Arthur—“ Karen yelled out, “get yer ass over here—“

“He’s—still here?”

Karen smirked and laughed, “What ya thought he left us for Ms. Mary Gillis huh? Ya poor dear.” Arthur came over and took Rose from Karen.

“I got her—“ Arthur said. Rose cried out, perhaps she had broken a few ribs. He laid her down onto her bed, “The hell happened to you?”

Karen looked down at Rose, “heard some gunshots off in the distance—was that you?”

“Y—yeah it was. We got a—problem Arthur—“ she breathed slowly, “Leviticus Cornwall is in Valentine—and he’s a looking’ for Dutch—“ entirety of her life time, been wounded and shot at and had never broken a damn bone in her life, till now.

“You sure?”

Rose nodded her head, “I was leaving the motel—he was rentin’ a room. He got a whole lotta men, Arthur. Outside of town, about 7 of them were followin’ me. A few managed to run off—Fuck—“

Karen walked away leaving the two of them alone. Arthur rested his hand on hers, squeezing lightly, “Get some rest—see if Ms.Grimshaw can help with the pain in the mornin’.”

“Thank ya, Arthur.”  

“Get some rest.”

Her hands reached up as she pulled him down, pressing her lips softly against his. He groaned, kissing her back. Maybe it had been all the whiskey she had, but she looked at him, her hands cupping his bearded face, “I’m glad ya came back. Thought maybe, you’d run off with Mary and that I was never gonna see ya again...”

Arthur looked sad for a moment, but then rested his forehead against hers, “Ain’t gonna leave everyone like that.” He paused, sounding so much sweeter when he spoke again, “Ain’t gonna leave you, like that.”

A soft smile came across her face, “you’re a good man.” She whispered and closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep, though the pain was unbearable. Eventually she did fall asleep. Arthur left to go and talk to Dutch and do a few other things, but at some point came back and stayed with her till the morning. Arthur rested against the wagon with his hat covering his face. Rose reached over slowly and pushed up on his hat, seeing his eye peeking out at her, “Mornin’.”

His neck felt stiff as he moved, trying to stretch out, “See you managed to sleep.”

“Fuck no.” She laughed, feeling the pain in her side, “somethin’ tells me, I ain’t gonna be much use for a while.”

“Get some rest. Not like we gonna be doing much. Especially you.”

She groaned out of annoyance, “Ya know I hate being useless.”

Arthur stood up and brushed off his pants, smiling as he looked at her, “Well that’s tough shit for you, ain’t it?” She whipped a rock at him, as he laughed and walked away, leaving her to stare up at the tent.

“Fuck—“ she sighed. For a couple of days she laid there, not moving to the best of her ability, even breathing had become a chore. They didn’t have a doctor and as much as Ms.Grimshaw was helpful... she was no doctor. Rose slowly moved from her sleeping bag and finally stood up, feeling the ground beneath her feet. It felt great minus the pain in her ribs, which was much more bearable than a few days ago. She walked over to Abigail seeing her sitting with Jack.

“Well look who’s up.” There was always that sass in her voice. Though she guessed being with John Marston would do that.

Rose laughed and felt pain, “I didn’t enjoy layin’ like a log.” She smiled and looked down at Jack, “Ya look mighty bored there, son.”

“I am.”

Rose shook her head, Abigail speaking to her, “I asked Arthur to take him out fishing but, he seemed a bit busy. Said he was supposed to meeting Dutch in town--”

 _That goddamn bastard didn’t want to listen to me. Huh?_  

“Why don’t I take him?” Rose looked down at Jack as he looked up at her.

Abigail smiled for a moment, “What ‘bout your wound?”

Rose waved her hand, “I ain’t been doing nothin’ for a few days. I’m bored. Let me take the boy out. Teach him how it’s supposed to be done.” She winked playfully.

Abigail smiled, “Are you sure?”

Rose looked to Jack, “Wanna come and do some fishin’ with me?”

He looked to his mother before he nodded his head yes. Rose slowly walked over to her horse (Which Arthur had gone out and found) and climbed up, breathing through some pain as she waited for Jack, “Got your fishin’ pole?”

“Uh huh!”

Rose reached down and grabbed onto it, placing it into one of the saddle bags, before she grabbed onto him and hoisted him up, placing him in front of her, “Onward!” and began to trot out of camp.

“Where are we going?”

“There’s a river nearby here. Heard it’s a great spot for fishin’. Also better to not stray too far from camp.” She smiled as they went along the path. If motherhood had been a thing for her, she probably would have been great at it.

“Are you and Uncle Arthur married?”

Rose snorted out of laughter, regretting as she felt some pain, “Naw, we ain’t. He’s a good man though.”

“Oh okay. Why?”

“Ya ask too many questions, Jack Marston. Sometimes it’s just better not to ask.” They finally reached the river side, as Rose stopped the horse and placed Jack down on the ground, grabbing his fishing rod and handing it to him before she climbed down slowly. She hissed in pain for a moment, grabbing onto her side.

“What happened?”

She looked to Jack, who looked a bit concerned, “M’horse bucked me off ‘cause she got scared.” Her breathing was light as she walked with Jack to the river, “Now—let’s catch us some dinner, so we don’t have to cook Pearson.”

Jack stood beside her, “Are we really gonna eat him?”

Rose smiled and shook her head, “Naw, son. I’m just being silly.” She kneeled down beside him, showing him how to fish and what do to. For a while Rose stood with Jack, remembering the first time she took Agatha fishing. “I used to take my sister fishing, when she was younger.”

“Yeah?” he looked so concentrated on what he was doing and it was cute.

“She was ‘bout ten years old when I took her. Ended up losing her fishing rod she did.” Rose smiled sadly, “Had to jump in the lake to get it. That fish did not want to give it back.”

“Where is she now?”

Did this child even understand the concept of death? He was running with a gang of outlaws so, she had definitely hoped so. “She’s—she’s in—“

Jack cut her off, and good thing too, “Can I take a break from fishing. I want to make something.” 

“Alright.” She smiled and watched as he reeled in his line.

“I’m gonna pick some of those red flowers. I’ll be right back!” Jack started to walk away from her. Rose watched as he walked over and sat down, picking at the flowers. For a while she stayed trying to catch some more fish.

“What ya makin’ there?”

“You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”

Rose finished fishing and put her rod away, feeling uneasy for a moment, if not paranoid, “You okay over there?” and began to make her way over to Jack.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She walked over as he held up the thing in his hand, “Hey, look at this.”

“At what?”

“This necklace I made for momma.”

Rose smiled, “Gonna have to show me how ya—“

“What a fine young man...” she turned her attention to two men that were coming over to her and Jack, “and in such complex circumstances.”

“Jack, get behind me—“ she motioned him over, as he stood up, holding tightly onto the necklace he made for Abigail.

“Rose, isn’t it? Rose Reeds?”

She looked at the two men, finally realizing who they were, “Who’s askin’?”

“We are—“ They both looked at her, “This is—“

Rose cut him off, “I know who ya are, Agent Milton. Agent Ross. I came to ya after my sister was shot, beggin’ for your help. Ya did nothin’.”

Milton nodded his head and smirked, “Well, got a lot on our hands, dealing with degenerates such as yourself. Your sister was no different.”

“What do ya want?” her eyes edged as she looked at them. Anger was building up inside her.

“I want Van Der Linde, Ms. Reeds. You know where he is?”

“Ya mean, Dutch?” She needed to get Jack out of here, this needed to end, “I haven’t seen him in years.” Course they didn’t believe that.

Milton hummed, “Thing is, we know a lot about you.”

“Please enlighten me then.”

Milton and Ross walked closer to her and Jack, “You’re wanted, Ms. Reeds. Got about three thousand dollars for your head. Ain’t it such a shame when the past comes knocking?”

She was pissed, “I said, what do ya want?”

“Listen...” Milton held up his hands, “This is my offer, Ms. Reeds...bring in Van Der Linde...And you have my word, you won’t swing. “

“Sorry, Agent Milton. I ain’t gonna swing anyways. I ain’t done nothin’ wrong, other than not play the game to your rules.”

“Spare me the philosophy lesson...I’ve already heard it. From Mac Callander.” Arthur had mentioned him before, they hadn’t known what happened to him and she reckoned Milton was about to tell her, “He was pretty shot up by the time I got to him...so really it was more of a mercy killing.” Rose looked away for a moment, “Slow...but merciful.”

Rose moved close to Milton, Ross pulling his gun up fast, “Enjoy being some rich man’s pawn, don’t ya?”

“I enjoy society...flaws and all. You people venerate savagery and you will die. Savagely. All of you.” Milton pointed to her.

“You’re right. We all are gonna die.”

“Some of use sooner than others.” Milton turned around and headed back to his horse, along with Ross, “Good day, Ms. Reeds.”

“Goodbye—“

Ross looked at Jack, “Enjoy your fishing, kid...while you still can.”

Jack came out from behind her, seeming angry, “Who are they—“

Rose pulled him back, resting her hands on his shoulder, “Don’t worry ‘bout them, son. Ain’t nothin’...Come on, let’s get ya back home to your mother.” Jack grabbed onto his fishing rod as they went back over to her horse and climbed up.

Rose didn’t feel very good and suddenly the pain in her side seemed like the least of her problems.

“Why did you lie about where Uncle Dutch is?”

“Because...because---well those men aren’t very nice and I don’t want them to hurt him.”

“What did they mean about Mac? Is he in jail?”

_No, Jack. That ain’t what they meant..._

“I...I don’t know, son. I--just don’t know.” She sighed, “Don’t worry about them. The world is filled with people that are mean and nasty. And that’s why ya got everyone at the camp. To protect ya from folk like them.”

“Even you?” Jack asked.

“ ‘Course, Jack. Wouldn’t let anythin’ happen to ya. Now, how ‘bout that necklace ya made. Still got it?”

“Yeah. I got it.”

She smiled, “Did ya enjoy fishin’?”

“It was...okay, I think...It’s a lot of waiting around.”

“It is.” She laughed, trying to ignore her broken ribs. They finally made it back to camp, Milton and Ross’s words stuck with her as she helped Jack off and hurried past Abigail and over to Dutch and Arthur, a few of the boys sitting around.

She stood looking at the lot of them, “I hate to add to the excitement that ya’ll are experiencing at this moment. However...We got a problem, Dutch.”

Dutch walked over to her, “It don’t matter. We are packing up and leavin’—“

“What—“ she turned to look at Arthur, “Why? Cause ya couldn’t heed m’warnin’ ‘bout Leviticus Cornwall. What is wrong with ya, Dutch?”

“Ain’t nothin’ wrong, Rose.” He turned his head to look behind him, “Now either pack your things and come with us. Or pack your damn things and get out—“

Rose laughed, out of anger, “Right, Dutch. Cause that’s how it has to be.” He started to walk away when she spoke again, “I ran into them fellers, Agent Milton and Ross, down by the river.” Dutch stopped and turned to look at her, “And they really want ya, Dutch. Offered me freedom, just to know where ya are...”

His eyes watched hers, “Did you take it?”

“No, I wouldn’t sell ya out like that, Dutch. Bit offended you even asked.” Dutch nodded his head before she continued to talk, looking over at Arthur for a moment, “They said Mac Callander—“ the boys looked at her as she spoke, hating the next words that came out of her mouth, “he’s dead.” 

“Son of a bitch—“ Arthur mumbled and a few of them looking down and away.

“We need to pack and go.” Dutch looked at the lot of them.

Rose shook her head, “And go where?”

He stopped for a moment, “Charles and Arthur will go scout out the land that we had chosen out east. Make sure there’s nothing there, son.”

Arthur nodded his head and began to walk over to the horses. Rose following the both of them over, “You comin’?” Arthur looked at her, seeing how distraught she was.

“Naw, I’ll stay here and pack m’things. Help everyone...”

Arthur looked at her and grabbed the back of her head and pulled her close, pressing his lips against her forehead, “See you soon?”

“I ain’t goin’ nowhere, Arthur...” the grim if not sad reality of the matter being, “I ain’t got nowhere to go.”

Arthur climbed up on his horse and left following Charles, she stood there before the sound of thunder cracked through the skies, hearing the rain start to patter on everyone and everything.

“Well shit—“  she hurried over and began to pack her things. As she walked over to her tent, her eyes caught Dutch’s through the rain. He stood there, his shirt being soaked. He looked upset about something.

And she was sure it wasn’t about Mac.


	3. Clemens Point Pt-1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Moved again. Seems like it's all we're doing now a days. Running... It's all we're good at now, ain't it?
> 
> Something seems different, Rose she's...something ain't right. I know she won't tell me but...
> 
> I can't help but wonder...
> 
> That change... ain't always a good thing."

As they travelled east some more, it didn’t seem that the rain was going to let up anytime soon. She rode with her horse, Lily, having a few of her things tied on her back. The rest of her belongings packed away in one of the wagons. The sound of the rain was nice, though being soaking wet and cold to the bone was not, though she didn’t mind the rain so much. Her and Agatha always ended up being caught in it, not matter what. There was always something cleansing about it, as if it would wash away all the problems and sins from ones soul...then again, it was only rain.  She would look to Dutch a few times, though it seemed like he was trying to avoid her gaze at all costs since they left Horseshoe Overlook. Water droplets fell from the edge of her hat as they made their way along the valley, making a little hard to see. Rose groaned and whipped off her hat, shaking off the water droplets. Sean trotted up beside her.

“ Keep whippin’ that thing and you’ll knock somebody out.” He smirked as Rose rolled her eyes.

“Oh shut up.” She stuck her tongue out, “Hard to see sometimes with all this rain—“

“Oh’ey, get used to it lass—“

“Oh Sean,” She turned to look at him, “Perhaps Arthur should have left ya—“

Sean laughed and yes he was annoying the last time she saw him. However she didn’t know him all that well, “But then m’joy wouldn’t be here. Ya can’t tell me, ya didn’t miss me.”

Rose laughed, “Ya fool, I barely know ya—“

“Awe—“ he paused, “would ya like to get know me?” He grinned. Annoying as he can be, he was always good for a laugh.

“Get outta m’face, Sean.” He laughed and went on ahead of her. Most of the wagons were far ahead, Dutch was driving the one wagon, leaving just the two of them, alone. Charles had stayed far behind, making sure no one was following. Rose rode in silence, until the wagon got caught on something, halting it to a stop. Rose came up near the side and hopped off Lily, “Need some help, Dutch?”

He came down, to have a look at what the wheel had caught onto and sighed, “No, I got this. You keep going—“ Rose watched in some amusement as he tried to push the wagon forward, with zero progress.

“Outta m’way—“ she walked over to Dutch, “Gonna be here all day, if ya do it.” She pressed her heels into the ground, which was muddy and hard to find a grip on. Dutch shook his head and pushed with her, trying to move it, “And Sean wonders why I hate the rain—“ she yelped as she slipped and fell into the mud. The front of her covered from her chest and down to her pants.

Dutch looked down at her, smiling and chuckling for a moment, “Now ain’t that a sight—“ Rose threw some mud at him as it hit against his very nice and expensive looking vest. His eyes went from playful, to angry, but she didn’t care.

“Thought ya could use some more color—“ she grinned.

“Come on—“ he tried to sound calm as he reached his hand down to help her up, “Better get this moving—“

Rose grabbed onto his hand and yanked him down into the mud with her. Though, he wasn’t impressed at all. She was busting a gut, her laughter echoing throughout the trees, along with the pain in her ribs. He wiped some of the mud off him and looked over at her, “You done now?”

“Oh, Dutch. Where’s your sense of fun? If you’re that worried ‘bout your clothes—I’ll wash them m’self.”

 He looked down at the mud that covered him, “How can you be this way?”

“Be what? Pullin’ men into the mud? It’s real simple—“ she was thrown off guard by Dutch grabbing onto her shoulders as he looked down at her, his breathing hard.

“No, this—what you’re doing to me—“ it sounded so accusatory towards her. However he didn’t give her time to talk as he pressed his lips deeply against hers, her moans vibrating lightly against his lips. He did love her and that’s why it hurt her so damn much.

She pulled away slightly, looking up at him. Her heart clenched tightly in her chest, “I didn’t ask ya to fall in love with me. Ya did that yourself and I ain’t got nothin’ to do with that—“

“You have everything to do with that!”

She pulled away from him, trying to stand up quickly without slipping back into the mud, “Then I should go and blame Arthur for the feelin’s I have for him? Cause it’s all his fault—“

Dutch stood up keeping her between him and the wagon, “Enough about him, Rose.”

“I love him, Dutch. Ya seem to be forgettin’ that—“

“Well he don’t love you, Rose. I do. Is that ever gonna be enough for someone like you?” His words cut deep the minute he spoke them. Her eyes looked away from his, she be damned if she was gonna cry in front of him right now.

“Ya can’t speak for him, Dutch.” She leaned forward and whispering against his ear, “It don’t work like that.”

She pulled away from him and saw Charles coming up from a distance. He stopped looking at the two of them. “Everything alright?”

Rose pointed to the wagon, “It’s stuck—think ya could...help Dutch get it out? I—I need to go.”

Charles nodded his head, “No problem.” He hopped off his horse and walked over to help Dutch. Rose hurried over to Lily and climbed up, Dutch looked over to her, catching a glimpse of sadness before she galloped off into the distance. A few tears slid down her cheek as she headed towards Clemens Point, the rain slowly dying off as she neared her destination. Most of the wagons made it there. She hitched Lily and walked into the camp, watching as everyone set up.

“There’s a lake here!?” She yelled out feeling pretty excited, her voice echoing through the camp. Arthur smiled and shook his head.

“Oh yeah—“ Sean chimed in, placing his hand on her shoulder, “It’s filled with water too—“

Rose unbuckled her belt with her gun and handed it over to Sean. Whether or not she’d get it back was another story, “Be right back—“ she hurried across the lawn, along the small dock there and jumped off into the water, clothes ‘n all. A loud splash sounded, her body immersed in water and it felt nice. She came up to the surface and lounged in the water, most of the mud coming off of her, “Now this is the life—“ she muttered to herself.

Arthur walked over to the end of the dock, looking down at her. Sean coming up behind him, “Now that’s a girl who knows how to party—“

“Get out of here—“ Arthur grabbed Rose’s belt from Sean. Watching as she swam around, “Ain’t ya worried ‘bout what’s in there?”

“Ain’t anythin’ in here that’s worse than what’s out there, Arthur. Considerin’ the lot of ya, are out there.” She swam back over to the dock and climbed out, most of the mud now gone, however was now soaked to the brim. She slipped off her jacket and ringed out her hair, her eyes catching Arthur’s, “What?”

The thing was...he lied when he said he didn’t remember anything from the night him and Lenny got drunk. He remembered lots. But he wasn’t gonna tell her that, “You look, happy. At least more so than when you first got here.”

Her stupid fight with Dutch, in the end though...that’s what it would always been when it came to him. “Just tired from moving ‘round lots. But this place—“ she felt Arthur grab onto her hand for a moment, “It can be real somethin’.”

“Let’s hope.” He smiled one more time before Sean came and tackled Rose into the water. Arthur stood there and groaned.

“Goddamn it, Sean—“ he shook his head.

Rose punched Sean in the arm, coughing up some water, “Ya stupid prick! Tryin’ to drown me!?”

“Just havin’ some fun, lass. Laughter is the spice of life—“

Arthur bent down and helped Rose out of the water, “And choking ya is gonna be the cherry on top if you keep this up.”

“Awe, Mr.Morgan is super moody. Better watch out, Rose. He’ll bite your head clean off.”

Rose laughed, coughing a bit more, “Get out, boy. Ya got work to do.” She ringed out her hair once more and picked up her jacket. She was gonna have to find a place to dry off everything. She went off to see Karen, wondering if she had anything to wear.

After some time Dutch finally made it to camp with Charles, still covered in mud. She laughed, trying to change into what Karen gave her, which was a very revealing blouse and skirt. Dear lord she hadn’t worn a skirt in 17 years. She stood behind the wagon, Karen poking and prodding her.

“Ain’t no one here gonna judge ya, Rose. Come on out—“

“This is stupid! I look—stupid...” she whispered.

Karen came behind the wagon and looked at her, “Darlin’ you look mighty fine. I bet even you could piss off Ms. O’Shea lookin’ like that.” She grinned and grabbed most of Rose’s wet clothes and went to hang them up.

“I don’t want to do that!” Rose groaned and looked down, seeing her cleavage, a thing she ain’t seen in a long while. She peeked her head out, seeing most of the boys scattered ‘round, but she still didn’t want to budge and sat on the ground. It wasn’t until Jack came over to her, he had a stick in his hand as he sat down beside her.

“Why you hiding, Aunt Rose?”

She was considered an Aunt and that made her happy, “Well Jack. I—I feel mighty silly wearing this.” She motioned to her outfit.

“Why? Mommy wears the same stuff and always looks pretty.”

Rose smiled, “She’s your mom, ‘course ya gonna say that.”

“But you look pretty too.” He stood up, still playing with the stick, “Want to come walk with me?”

Jack was certainly something, for such a young lad. It made her heart burst with glee. She stood up and brushed off any dirt, “Look good?”

“Yeah.” Jack grabbed onto her hand and his hand tiny in comparison to hers as they walked out from behind the wagon and into the open.

Sean was the first to say something, but Karen took care of him with a hoof into his side. Arthur watched as Rose walked along with Jack.

“It’s okay.” Jack said reassuringly.

“Okay,” she whispered back and smiled softly. It wasn’t that she looked awful in a dress, but that she didn’t like being in one. Pants were more, efficient to do things in. Hosea went over to talk to Dutch, though Dutch was looking at Rose as she walked with Jack.

“Haven’t seen her wear a dress in a long time. Not since she was little.” Hosea smiled, her and Agatha were the closest things to daughters that he’d ever have.

They walked over to the lake, as Rose sat down and Jack went over to the beach, drawing in the sand with the stick. She sat watching him, Arthur walking over to her and sitting down beside her. “You wear a dress and the whole world is endin’.”

“It ain’t my thing.” She looked down, “this skirt is not practical.”

Arthur laughed deeply, “Practical if you want it off quick—“

She lightly hit his chest, which caused a few more chuckles from him, “Laugh all ya want, but it’s true.”

“Oh I know.” He smiled and looked at her.

“And it took a 4 year old to get me outta hidin’.” She smiled, looking over at Jack.

“He’s a good kid.”

Rose looked over at Arthur, “He is.” She reached over and grabbed onto Arthur’s hand, looking down his hands. They were rough and some grime was underneath his nails, but she didn’t mind so much.

“You okay?”

“I don’t think I am, Arthur. And I’m thinkin’ I never will be.” She had to laugh at herself. It was true. A man was in love with her and she was in love with another man and to top it all off, she had to wear a skirt till her clothes were dry. Whenever that would be. She slowly leaned over, resting against him. It felt nice, peaceful.

“You know, I had been meaning to talk to you ‘bout—“ Arthur went to speak, before Dutch’s voice cut him off.

“C’mere son,” he motioned Arthur over. How convenient. Rose looked at Arthur before he walked over to Dutch. Jack called out to Rose.

“Come see what I drew!”

She stood up and came over to Jack, looking down in the sand, “Well that’s a mighty fine drawin’, Jack.”

“Thank you.” He smiled softly as Abigail came over to the both of them.

“Come on Jack, time for supper—“

It looked like he wanted to protest, but hurried past the both of them. Abigail smiled walking over to her, “He likes you.”

“What he likes, is luring out women in skirts—Ya better watch him—“

Abigail scoffed and hit Rose lightly, “He ain’t gonna be like that.”

She smiled and walked away from Abigail as she headed back towards her tent. Arthur still chatting to Dutch for a few more minutes. But it was Ms.O’Shea that really caught her attention, as she was glaring at her. Feeling uncomfortable, Rose walked away from camp. The sound of trotting could be heard from behind her and turned seeing Arthur, “And where are ya headin’ off too?”

“Gettin’ Micah out...Not that I want to, but, Dutch insists that we get him out.” Micah’s words came back to her for a moment, as she shook off the thought.

“Think it’d be more fun to watch him swing.”

Arthur nodded his head, “You and I both. But—Dutch wants him back.” He grumbled for a moment.

“Be safe, Arthur.”

“You ain’t coming with?”

She gestured down to all of her, “As of this moment, Mr.Morgan, my clothes are dryin’. At least that’s what Karen says. I refuse to leave in this getup.”

He smiled, “Well then...Better go and check. Who knows—“ he started to trot away from her, “Maybe she took ‘em?”

It took a moment, “Oh ya son of a bitch!” she yelled out to him as he disappeared from camp. She’d have to go and have a small chat with Karen.

 

It was a couple of days later, Arthur had freed Micah, much to Rose’s disappointment. But he hadn’t come back with Arthur, which was a good thing. She asked Arthur what happened and he said that Micah was out near Strawberry, hiding out in some camp for the mean time. Good, then she wouldn’t need to worry about Micah for a little while. But Molly, she was another problem. She made her way over to Rose, not looking a bit too pleased about anything, especially her.

Either way, Ms.O’Shea was not happy and was about to express that.

“Ms.Reeds—I need a word with you—“

Now also at this point, Karen still had Rose’s clothing held hostage somewhere, leaving her still in the revealing outfit and she was wondering if maybe that’s what ticked off Molly. Rose nodded her head, “Yes, Molly—“

“It’s Ms.O’Shea to you!” she snapped.

“Fine. Ms.O’Shea. What can I do for ya?”

“You can stay away from Dutch.” She pointed at her, sounding loud and very pissed off.

“Ain’tnothin’ goin’ on between me and Dutch, Molly.”

Molly walked closer to her, “Is that so? I don’t believe you.”

“I really don’t care if ya believe me. It’s the truth. So I’d really appreciate if ya got out of m’face—“

Molly looked at her before she smirked, there was much venom in her voice, “I wouldn’t understand what Dutch see’s in you anyways. You ain’t special.”

Rose laughed and shook her head, “Oh really? I was thinkin’ the same thing.” It took a few seconds for Molly’s hand to make contact with her face. The sound of the slap echoing throughout the camp. Rose stood there, her cheek now red as she looked at Molly, “are ya done?”

“Stay away from Dutch—“ Karen walked over to Rose, as they looked at Molly, “Or I’ll kill you myself.” She walked away from the both of them.

Rose stood there for a moment, unsure of what she should be doing, “Where are m’clothes? I need to head into town.”

“I’ll show ya.” Karen motioned Rose over.

She got her clothing and finally changed back into everything, feeling normal once again, “Thanks for lettin’ me borrow...these...”

“Don’t let Molly bug ya. She’s been...I don’t even know. She’s even been picking fights with me.” Karen looked at Roses face, “though she hit ya pretty good.”

“Yeah, thank you Karen—I’ll be back in a while.” She walked over to Lily and climbed up as she left and headed towards Rhodes. To be honest, Rose wasn’t all that mad about what Molly did. On some level she understood, perhaps the death threat was a bit much but... Molly loves him. But in the entirety of her being there, he had never once told Molly that he loved her. Even when she would say it, he always had a response that wasn’t I love you. She galloped through the fields, enjoying the scenery as she went, though it all looked the same sometimes, except for the sheep and ranches that she saw. Rose made her way into town, slowing down to a trot as she went through town, wondering where the hell Dutch and them buggered off too.But it was near the Sheriff’s that she found Dutch’s and Hosea’s horses.

“Bingo—“ and trotted over to the hitching post, hitching her horse before she walked up the stairs and into the Sheriff’s , Hosea, Dutch and the sheriff were laughing and having a good old time. As they were all having some whiskey. Rose looked at the lot of them, “Y’all look like you’re havin’ ...fun.”

They looked over finally noticing her, Dutch also noticing that she had changed. Hosea spoke as he walked over to her, “M’dear. Glad to see you’re lookin’ back to normal.”

“As normal as I’ll get, Hosea.” She smiled softly, before he motioned to her face, “Ah, right—“ she looked over to Dutch, “Ya gentlemen mind if I borrow Dutch for a moment?”

The sheriff seemed a little tipsy, but happy, “Course miss. Take all the time ya need—“

Rose turned and walked outside with Dutch following behind as the door shut behind them. She turned to face him, “Saw Molly today—“ her eyes widened a bit, “She’s a pleasant person.”

“She can be...” he seemed a little lost, “What happened to you?”

“Your Ms.O’Shea deemed it ‘nough to slap me. Say’s I gotta stay away from ya. Or else she’ll kill me.”

Dutch shook his head, “That ain’t gonna happen—“

“She’s right, ya know. This—“ she pointed between them, “it’s gotta stop, Dutch. And it ain’t cause I think she’d keep to her word...”

“It won’t ever stop, Rose.” She watched his eyes, seeing that burning fire of determination, “I know a part of you won’t let it.” He reached his hand out and brushed back some of her hair behind her ear, before she pulled away.

“That woman loves ya, Dutch. Why ain’t she good ‘nough—“

He cupped her face, roughly, holding her there in place. Her breathing elevated as he looked at her, “I ask myself the same thing every damn day. She ain’t you.” Dutch looked to behind her, seeing Arthur and the deputy heading back. Hosea came out and sat down on the steps,  Rose watched as Arthur stopped his horse and grabbed onto the guy that was tied up on the back. Arthur walked over and threw him onto the ground.

Dutch pulled away from Rose and went over to Arthur, “I told you Arthur would deliver...” the sheriff came outside, “man has a passion for justice.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“So, about my friend here...” he motioned to the caged wagon. Which up until now, Rose hadn’t noticed there was someone sitting in the back there.

“Your idiot friend is free to go...” the sheriff walked over to the wagon, “But no more trouble from you, partner.” He opened up the cage, letting out...well she didn’t know who that was.

“I promise you, this was all just a big misunderstanding.” The guy climbed out and down, “However, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“Ill pretend to appreciate that.” He turned to Dutch, “Mr. Macintosh—“ Rose had to stifle a laugh, “It has been a real pleasure. The mostly good citizens of Rhodes...” Sheriff shook Dutch’s hand, “we welcome you.”

“Well, we’re just honoured to be here.” Dutch smiled, putting on that charm.

“And make your friend behave. We got enough trouble from some of the residents. Old timers who’ve gone sadly to see and lost their dignity.”

Dutch looked over to Arthur, Rose walked down the porch and over between Dutch and Arthur, “How terrible. Come along now—“ he began to walk, “I will keep this fellow on the straight and narrow.”

The sheriff went into the building, to go and talk with the young man that was waiting outside (said his name was Beau) as they both disappeared inside.

“I can’t thank you enough—“

“Where have you been?” Dutch asked and Rose looked all sorts of lost.

“I’m real sorry, gentlemen but—Who are ya?”

He turned to look at Rose, and smiled, putting on his charm and wit as he grabbed onto her hand and kissed it, “Josiah Trelawny. At your service.”

“Rose.” She laughed softly and pulled her hand away, “Another charmer. Seems to be a lot of ya.”

“Can’t be in too much shortage of wit, m’dear.” They started to walk down the road, “As to your question, Dutch. I’ve been around.”

“Where you staying?”

“I’m renting. A caravan...on the edge of town, behind the church. It’s horrible, but no one comes looking.” Josiah spoke as they all walked with him down the road. “The whole town is trapped...in this interminable feud between the two families. His lot, Grays and Braithwaites.”

“Interesting.” Dutch said. Rose continued walking with them, but ended up being beside Arthur. Though listening about the feuding families made her a bit uneasy.

“Two old plantation houses...and falling out over rebel gold and marrying cousins and not marrying...”

“Arthur, Hosea, Rose...That sort of thing, you start poking around, see what you can find out about that.”

“I have missed you boys and random girl I don’t know—“ Rose shook her head, chuckling to herself, “I’ve heard about bounties.”

Rose looked over to Arthur and then Dutch. There was a bounty on her head too, but she wasn’t wanting to talk about those things with the gang.

“There’s been a price on my head for thirteen years...It’ll take ‘em months to find us down here and it seems like we can have a little sport.” Rose looked over at Dutch.

_What are ya plannin’ now, Dutch?_

They walked with Josiah over to the caravan he was renting out. Talking to the lot of them about the bounties, about super agents that were now being sent. Probably to deal with the likes of them. But as it was told, they’re just words.

“Thank you, gentlemen.” He bowed and headed back over to his place. As the rest of them started to head back towards their horses. Dutch talking with Hosea.

“Okay, so these two plantation families...Arthur, you start sniffing around the Gray’s place, see what the story is there.”

“Yeah, I passed by it earlier with our friend Archibald.” Arthur said and looked over at Rose.

“Good. Hosea, you see what you can find out about these Braithwaites. Rose, you go with him, might need a woman’s touch on this one.”

Rose shook her head, “Alright, Dutch.” Though she didn’t mind being able to spend some time with Hosea. A part of her knew Dutch didn’t want her around Arthur.

“Quite the fishing trip.” Arthur said.

“There’s still time. I’m up for it.” Dutch looked over at Hosea.

“How ‘bout you, Arthur? Or have you have enough of the chase for one day?” They stood there waiting for him to answer.

“Sure, why not.”

They headed back over to their hitched horses, “Hosea? Why don’t you lead us to that spot you were talking about? I kind of like this place.”

“Yeah, Dutch—“ Rose chimed in as he turned to look at her, “how ‘bout we don’t fuck it up?”

“Agreed.” Hosea nodded his head, “let’s see if we can avoid any more excitement.”

Rose looked at them as they got up on their horses, “You comin’ dear?” Hosea looked down at her.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose. And I’ll make y’all look bad if I go.”

Arthur smirked and Dutch laughed, “Come on, come and spend some time with your family.”

It hit hard, that word. Wasn’t a family without Agatha. But Rose smiled softly and climbed up onto her horse, “Fine. But don’t y’all bitch, if I catch more than ya.” They all chuckled, she’d show them for sure.

“Alright, follow me.” Hosea said as they trotted out of Rhodes.

“So how far is this creek?” Dutch asked Hosea.

“It’s a bit of a ride still. And it’s not a creek. It’s the same lake we camped on, just a different part. It’ll be worth it...I saw some big strum and sturgeon there...should be rock bass, bluegills, perch, pickerel too. It’s a good spot.”

“We’ll see if you’re as good at catching fish as you are at catching criminals, Arthur.”

“Trelawny owes me for that.”

Rose laughed, “Goddamn charmer. Does he always get into trouble?”

“He’s everywhere and nowhere, it seems.”

“We wouldn’t have got Sean back if he hadn’t been weaselling around down that way, though.”

“Hey, Dutch, remember that time you found him in the outhouse?” Hosea asked.

Dutch laughed, “Oh yeah...we hadn’t see him in weeks. We stopped in some dead-end town in the middle of nowhere, don’t even remember the name. You and Bill were off doing something, Arthur. So we pick up some supplies, I go to relieve myself, open the door and there’s Trelawny, sitting there, newspaper in hand, “Mr. Van Der Linde”. I say “What the hell are you doing here?” and he said “I could ask you the same thing.” Rose shook her head, laughing a little, “Now if you wouldn’t mind giving me a little privacy, I ate a rotten oyster”. Dutch laughed along with Hosea.

Rose kept up her speed beside Hosea, wanting to talk to him.

But Hosea beat her to the punch, “Didn’t think I’d ever see you again, Rose. It’s been a long time.”

Now she felt a little bad, “I know. I’m sorry for disappearing on ya, I just—“

Hosea turned his head for a moment to look at her, “You don’t need to explain, dear. I do understand. I raised you, remember?”

Of course she remembered, Hosea was the closest thing to a father that she ever had, “I do.” She smiled softly, “thank you. For being there for me...for Agatha.”

“It was my pleasure, you both were like daughters to me...” he smiled looking over at her, “still are.”

Rose didn’t say anything, but she was smiling. It was a nice thought, between all of what had happened, Hosea was more family than anyone she’d know.They galloped along till they reached a lake that looked like it went on for miles. It was beautiful.

“Wow—“ Rose smiled, “Agatha would have really loved this.”

Hosea laughed, “Oh yeah, that’s right. She loved fishing.” They reached the boats and grabbed onto one of them, turning the damn thing around, it was heavy, even with the four of them moving it. “Didn’t you taking her fishing once?”

Rose pushed with all her might, “Y-yeah—y’all remember that fishing trip that Agatha wanted to go on. She was ‘bout 10 years old?”

Dutch nodded his head, “Yeah, you were supposed to go to the lake, just south of Blackwater. Hosea and I couldn’t take you—“ they pushed the boat into the water and all climbed in. Hosea went to grab onto the ors, Arthur tapped on his shoulder.

“Let me row, you boys are too old for real labor no more.”

Rose chuckled looking at the lot of them, trying to finish her story, “So ya sent Arthur with me. Who by the way, had buggered off too—“ she stopped, wondering if she should mention it, “well let’s just say he left.”

Arthur shook his head, “Rattin’ me out, huh?”

“So that’s when Agatha got the idea to...go fishing...in a swamp.” She laughed, feeling a few tears slide down her face, “Which why, it took us four days to get there.”

“That explains a lot.” Dutch smiled and looked over at her.

“You had me and Bessie worried.” Hosea shook his head, “She wouldn’t let me live it down if something had happened to ya.”

“However—“ they finally stop and pulled out their fishing rods, and started to bait up, “We did manage to find a boat, went out into the swamp. I’d never seen her so happy.” She threw her fishing line back, letting it reel out far as the lure dropped into the water.

“She never did catch anything, did she?” Hosea looked over at Rose.

“Well—“ she reeled in her line a bit, “Sort of—I mean, the damn thing ended up takin’ her fishing pole. And I had to jump in and get it. And now that I think ‘bout it—“ she laughed and it felt good, “I don’t it was a fish that took it—“

“You’re lucky ya didn’t get eaten—“ Arthur chimed in.

“Naw,” she pulled back, feeling a hard tug as she started to reel in, “Woulda spit me out. I don’t taste very good—I think.” She turned her head and looked at Arthur and Dutch, who now were avoiding her gaze.

_Oh ya, goddamn perverts..._

The water was calm on the lake as they all fished together. Hosea would get a few bites, catch one then lose it. Arthur caught one, along with Dutch. But she still said it anyways and turned her head to each side, “Y’all suck at this—“

Arthur smirked, before he playfully pushed her, unfortunately she lost her footing and fell over the side of the boat, splashing some water onto the boys. She came up to the surface, finally getting some air in her lungs as Arthur said, “Hey, I reckon we call it a day, fellers.”

Hosea looked over to Arthur, “You’re not gonna leave her in there are ya?”

“Ya better not...” but then she stopped, feeling some relief that her gun wasn’t on her. Be a bitch to clean, “But I’ll tell ya what.” She peeled off her coat and handed up to Arthur, “I bet ya five dollars, that I can make it back before ya, just by swimming.”

 

Dutch was watching between the two of them, but ended up being the one to speak, “You’re on, Ms.Reeds.”

She looked to Dutch, and smirked before she started to swim away from them, through the water, which was hard to do in boots. Arthur groaned out and started to paddle as fast as he could.

“Ya damn cheater—“ she heard him yell out. Trying to stay focused on swimming rather than laughing. But it didn’t take long for them to catch up and with maybe only 50 feet to go...Rose was sure she had this in the bag, a huge splash blinded her and a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.

“Now look who’s cheatin’!” she squirmed wondering who was holding her, until she saw Hosea and Dutch still in the boat as they made it back to the camp, “I’m out five dollars cause of ya—“ she turned in the water to face him.

His eyes watched hers, “Yeah well—“ his hands went around his waist and pulled her close, “Better you than me.”

“Arthur?”

“What?”

“I—well—Arthur ya—“ She looked at him, his eyes seemed so soft. What was he thinking about? Arthur pressed his lips against hers, softly, teasingly and it lit a fire within her. She stopped, feeling like they were being watched. But she didn’t want to bother looking and pulled away, “come on—I need to get into some different clothing—“

“Oh, so you’re gonna pay Karen a visit again?” he smiled.

She splashed some water at him and slowly made her way to the shore. Arthur following not too far behind. Maybe he could be with Rose? She understood his life, this life and she even loves him. But when the thought of Mary Gillis popped in his head, he’d push his feelings away. But how much longer could he? If it wasn’t Mary being an issue, there seemed to be one with Dutch. Always watching like a hawk when it came to Rose.

Arthur shook his head, looking at Rose as she ringed out her hair, her smile soft as her eyes caught his. It wasn’t until Hosea came over that she turned her attention away, grabbing her belt, gun and jacket from him before they walked off to talk about a nice visit over to the see the Braithwaites.

Hosea and Rose decided on waiting for the next day for their special visit. Deciding to stay in the camp for the rest of the night and after speaking with Karen, had also decided something else.

That she wasn’t going to wear a skirt ever again.

And that she was sure Arthur had some extra clothes...

So while they all sat around the fire, singing songs. Rose was raiding Arthur’s things, so she had to be quick and swift. She changed into a pair of his pants, though they were a little loose around her waist, and changed into a dress shirt, which was a tight in the chest and loose on the shoulders. She snuck over to the camp fire, Karen slipping her a drink as she sat down beside Arthur.

As someone started to sing,  ** _“When I was just a lad you know; I met a gal from ol’ Bordeaux; She had blonde hair and blue eyes too,”_**  and then all the guys started in,  ** _“She let me ride on the ring-dang-do. The ring-dang-do, now what is that? It’s soft and round like a pussy cat--”_**

Rose took a sip of her drink and shook her head, “Goddamn it—“ she chuckled, listening to the lot of them.

**_“Got a hole in the middle and it’s split in two; and that’s what you call the ring-dang-do.”_ **

Uncle looked over at Rose, “Come on, girl. Sing with us—“

Rose immediately stood up from the log, “It ain’t gonna happen, Uncle—“ Karen yanked on Rose’s arm, pulling her over to her.

“I wanna hear ya—“ Karen drank back some more of her drink.

Javier kept the music going. Rose was blushing real hard. She didn’t like singing, and it was a weakness of hers. Guns? No problem. Life’s in danger? Who cares! Singing? No. Just no. Arthur smirked looking at her, still not noticing she stole his clothing.  ** _“She took me down into her cellar, said that I was a mighty fine feller—“_**

Karen joined in with her,  ** _“Fed me wine and whiskey too—Let me ride on the ring-dang-do.”_**

Rose’s heart fell out of her chest, laughing and yet panicking inside. Everyone continuing to sing, including Rose, wasn’t so bad with everyone ** _“The ring-dang-do, now what is that? It’s soft and round like a pussy cat; Got a hole in the middle and it’s split in two; and that’s what you call the ring-dang-do.”_**

Karen who was drunk at this point, started to dance around with Rose and it was both fun and very embarrassing. They boys continued to sing, all busting a gut when they finished. Karen smirked and twirled Rose around, “Hey Arthur—“

“What, Karen?” he was smiling but not for long.

“Don’t ya like what, Ms.Reeds is wearin’? Thinkin’ she looks mighty fine...in your clothin’.”

Rose bit the bottom of her lip, looking over at him.

Arthur groaned, sounding a bit pissed off, “How ‘bout next time you ask, ‘stead of stealin’ my shit—“

Sean looked up at Rose, “Oh’ey, but, I think she wears it better than ya, Arthur.”Karen went over and sat in Sean’s lap.

Rose smiled and pulled away from the camp, some of the others were sitting around a table, playing poker. Mostly it was where Dutch, Hosea and Susan were. Rose walked over to the shore and stared out at the moonlight along the lake, finishing the rest of her drink before chucking it to the side. The sound of leaves and twigs crunching turned her attention to behind her, she smiled seeing Arthur.

“Come to steal back your clothes?”

He laughed for a moment, “Hard to do when they’re still on you.” He sat down beside her on the log, looking out at the lake.

Rose stood up and extended her hand down to Arthur’s “Come with me—“

Arthur reached his hand out, but then stopped. Seeming hesitant, “I don’t know, Rose.”

“What? Its okay, Arthur—“

He stood up quickly, taking her aback. Her heart was pounding fast, she didn’t feel well. “It ain’t. Got Dutch watchin’ you like a goddamn hawk.” She felt both anger and sadness building up, “Can’t be ‘round you without him. I just—“ he stopped, not liking the next words that came out of his mouth, “--don’t think it’s a good idea—“

“Dutch doesn’t matter, Arthur. He’s got Molly. I ain’t with him. I—“ she closed her eyes and turned away from Arthur.

“This isn’t a good idea anymore.”

Bitterness pulled at her, her eyes shook looking at him before she pushed by him. Hurrying through the camp and over to her horse. She didn’t want to be around him, she was so angry, so angry...tears rolled down her face as she climbed up on her horse and galloped away from the camp. She hurried as fast as she could, along the roads. It wasn’t until she knew she was alone that she stopped and went off to the side of the road, leaning against her horse and letting everything out.  Letting out the sobbing agony that she hadn’t in a long time.

“What have I done wrong, Lily? Nothin’ aint good ‘nough for no one. I ain’t...” more tears rolled down, as she hid her face in Lily’s mane, “I’m a goddamn fool. So goddamn foolish--“

“You ain’t a fool, m’dear.”

She pulled her face away and looked over seeing Hosea, “What you—what you doin’ here--?” she was vulnerable as some tears and snot ran down her face, wiping her sleeve across.

“Saw Arthur about to get on his horse and chase after you but, told him I’d go. Dutch offered to but--” Hosea got off his horse, stopping a few feet from her, “Figured I’d be enough.”

She tried to keep her composure, looking at him. This man who she considered family, a father. But it didn’t work, her face scrunched up in pain as more tears fell down her face. Hosea looked at her and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest.

“My darlin’ Rose.” He smiled, petting her hair, “Bessie would have loved this. I ain’t exactly good with relationship talk.”

Rose nodded her head, laughing softly and sniffling. He felt warm, safe and that’s what she needed right now, comfort. “well—ya do suck at it.”

Hosea laughed as she pulled back to look at her, “Come with me—“

“Where we goin’?” she wiped her face, this time with her other sleeve.

Hosea climbed up on his horse, “For a ride.”

She took a deep breath to calm herself as she climbed up on Lily, following Hosea. God knows where he was taking her. But at this point she didn’t care so much, turns out he was taking her to where the Braithwaites plantation was. Big place, not that she could see much of it in the dark though.

“That’s where will be goin’ tomorrow.”

“Do ya think—this is a good idea? I’m not even sure what Dutch is wanting to do?”

Hosea turned to look at her, there was some uncertainty in his voice, “He’s wantin’ money, Rose. What else does he want out of what he does?”

He had a point. They turned away from the manor and started making their way back towards camp. They had been gone a long while, and hopefully it was enough for most of them to get their asses to bed.

“So, do you feel like explaining the situation goin’ on with you, or...should I not bother?”

Rose laughed for a second, “It would hurt your head, Hosea. Hurts mine for sure.”

“Well I guess there’s only one piece of advice I can give you, Rose. You’re not gonna like it though...” She looked over to him as they went along the roads, waiting for him to speak, “There’s a reason they made guns.”  

“That it?” Rose smiled and laughed, “Such a romantic, ain’t ya?”

“I loved Bessie, with everything I had. But this life—was my life. She knew that.”

They came back into the camp, hitching both their horses. She climbed down and hugged Hosea one more time, “Closest thing to a father that I’ll ever have.”

He smiled and pulled away from her, heading into the camp, hopefully to get some shut eye. Rose looked around seeing Dutch’s tent all closed up, so hopefully he was sleeping. She walked back through camp, heading over to her bed. There was something sitting on her pillow as she bent down and grabbed it.

 **“Sorry.”** Was all it said. She looked over to Arthur’s tent, but didn’t see him in bed. She placed the letter down and went to go look for him. His horse was still at the camp but, who knows where he was. He was a little ways from camp, along the shore of the beach. He stood there, smoking. His silhouette being the only thing she could see as she walked over to him. She stood a few feet away, watching him. He threw the smoke into the water, dousing its light before he turned to look at her.

He sighed, “I ain’t been all that honest with you, Rose.” She didn’t want to say anything, so she stood there waiting. “Sayin’ I didn’t remember anythin’ from that drunken night—“

She crossed her arms, “Then what do ya remember, Arthur?” and closed the gap between them quickly, “Me fuckin’ ya?” she glared at him, “Tell me—“  

Arthur pulled her hard against him, his lips pressing roughly against hers. They kissed for a few moments before he stopped, wrapping his arms tightly around her and holding her close. Her hands gripped tightly onto his shirt, her breathing ragged as she stood there with him, “I’m sorry, Rose.”

“Do ya not want me no more?” she whispered.

 “That ain’t it. I always want you.” His eyes drifted back over to camp. Mainly back over to Dutch’s tent. 

“Arthur—“ he looked back at her, “Do ya trust me?”

“With my life.”

She smiled softly, “Then I need ya to understand, that I need to deal with this, in m’own way.” She grabbed onto his hands, looking up at him. God she loved him, “And that it don’t change what I told ya that night.” She knew there was still Mary, but for now, it was okay.

“Okay.” He looked at her and then grabbed onto her hands, “Come on.” She nodded her head letting Arthur pull her as they walked back to his bed. He dowsed the light leaving the two of them in some darkness. He slowly started to unbutton his shirt, as she stood there watching him, a smile playing along her lips.

“Is this what ya meant by sorry?” she bit her bottom lip, watching him move his hands down to his pants, “If so, I hope you’ll always be sorry.”

There she was...

Arthur stripped down to nothing, sat down on his cot, naked and pulled her over to him. She slowly unbuttoned her shirt. Exposing her breasts and stomach as the shirt slid down her arms and onto the ground. His hands felt rough along her skin as pressed his lips lightly between her breasts and down to her stomach. Her hands working at the pants she had on, sliding them down and off, leaving her naked as well. Arthur lad down on his side under the blankets and crawled in beside him, her backside pressing against his front. His skin felt like it was on fire, as he wrapped his arm around her, keeping her close. She blushed feeling his arousal twitch against her, her moans were soft and quiet as felt the tip him against her entrance before he pushed in.

“Arthur—“ she moaned softly. His thrusts were slow, feeling every searing inch of her as he moved in and out of her. His lips brushing against her ear as he whispered sweet nothings to her. His arm wrapped tightly around her waist as he listened to her moan and gasp with each thrust.

“Rose—“ he said, resting his head against the back of her neck. His hand slipped down between her legs, pressing and rubbing her clit, “Cum for me--“

“Harder--“ she breathed out, his hips hitting hard against her ass, turning the skin a little red as he did so. She turned her head, wanting to look at him. He looked at her eyes and looked at the pleasure he was giving her, pressing his lips deeply against hers. Her moans were muffled as her walls fluttered tightly around his cock before he came inside. The sound of her heart beating hard, echoed in her ears. He pulled away and looked down at her, kissing her one last time before lying back down and pulling her close.

“G’night, Arthur.”

“Good night, Rose.”

 

The smell of coffee filled Rose’s nose, her eyes opening slowly, with warmth still behind her. She looked seeing Dutch and Molly were up. Her hand ran along Arthur’s, “Mornin’” he grumbled.

“Awe, someone be needin’ some coffee?”

He chuckled, clearly still half asleep, “Sure—I’d love for you to go get m’some.”

She shook her head and crawled out of bed, slipping on Arthur’s clothing and walking over to the fire pit with her metal cup, for some coffee. It felt cold this morning, though she knew she’d have to give it a bit to warm up. Still better than being up in the mountains. She poured some coffee and walked back over to Arthur’s tent and placed it down , “Oh, get up ya lazy bastard.” He groaned and waved his hand. She bent down and kissed him on the forehead, deciding to go and grab herself a cup too.

She looked out to the lake, and walked over and along to the end of the dock. Staring out at how foggy the lake was and sipping her coffee. The dock creaked as she heard footsteps coming up beside her, “Fun night?”

It was Dutch. She sipped her coffee, her eyes still looking out at the lake, not really wanting to answer his question. “Ya know, Molly’s gonna shoot me if she sees ya talkin’ to me.”

Dutch chuckled, “I won’t let that happen.” She nodded her head in silence, before he started to talk again, “Didn’t think you were gonna come back last night.”

“Had thought about campin’ out somewhere for the night. Was gonna try and convince Hosea but...he made m’feel better.” She sipped at her coffee, the metal burning her lips a little, “He’s been like a father to me. Ya know? Haven’t seen m’father since...” she stopped, realizing how young she at the time, “—Since I shot him.”

Dutch looked confused for a moment then turned to look at her, “You told us, he got himself killed.”

“And he did...by me. Ain’t m’fault that ya didn’t ask for the details...” she looked over at Dutch, “Somethin’ wasn’t right with him. He was—doin’ things to Agatha...things that—no man should do to a child. I tried to stop him—so many times. But he would just... hit me back so much harder.” She took another sip and looked back over to the water, “But I found something that hit back a lot harder, though I didn’t know how to shoot much. It was his pistol—“ she looked down to the gun holstered on her hip, “He laughed, “ain’t no girl gonna kill me. Ain’t anyone here to protect ya.” So I had to prove him wrong.”

“That’s why there was blood on you, when we found you.”

She nodded her head, “I didn’t realize m’father had a bounty on his head. Guess it was a good thing ya guys wanted him.” She dumped the rest of her coffee, as she looked at Dutch for a second. She sighed and started to walk back down the dock, when she stopped and faced him, “I didn’t mean—for any of this to happen, Dutch. Whether ya like it or not, this hurts me too. But it’s hurtin’ Molly. I liked her, ya know, before all this. Now she wants m’dead.”

He turned and walked over to her, looking down at her brown eyes. His voice seeming gentle and yet, a little on edge. “Sometimes I feel sorry and then others days, I just don’t.” Her eyes watched his, praying to the lord, that Molly wasn’t seeing any of this, “I know how I make you feel—“ he bent down beside her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.“How much you enjoy it—you can’t deny it. Because I can’t either. I love you, Rose. It ain’t leaving any time soon.” The lust and desire left his eyes as he spoke, his next words, “One day you’ll come ‘round. You just don’t know it yet.”

For her, that statement seemed very out of place for Dutch and for a moment, a fear gnawed at the back of her head as she walked away from him. Hosea had told her to meet him just a ways down from the camp, though she had wondered why they hadn’t left together in the first place. However, he had asked that she dress up in something...a bit more feminine to look more...presentable? Though she didn’t want too...she abided at his request. She climbed up on Lily and galloped out of the camp as quick as she could, she had made the man wait long enough. However she wasn’t used to riding around in a skirt. At least she still had her long jacket. Hosea and John were both through some of the trees and sitting on a wagon, when she got there. Rose trotted over and climbed down from her horse.

“If it ain’t John Marston. Feel like I’ve barely seen ya.”

He chuckled, “You ain’t lookin’ properly then.”

Rose smiled and shook her head, “What’s this?” she gestured to the wagon.

“It’s moonshine, m’dear. And we are selling it back to where it came from.”

She walked over to the two of them, “Why do a thing like that?”

John hopped off the wagon as Hosea apoke, “Well I ain’t got a market for it. They made it, they must have someone to sell it to.” He grabbed onto one of the bottles and handed it to John, “Stuff looked kinda lonely out here. I think we’ll cut ourselves a deal.”

Rose nodded her head, “Ya sneaky bugger.”

Hosea walked to the front and climbed up into the seat, “Arthur and Dutch was just doing their duty...when they requisitioned it.” She walked over and climbed up, sitting beside him, “Now I’m doing mine.”

“Alright,” John said, “I should get goin’ now. I’ll leave you guys to it. Good Luck.”

“Thank you, John. We’ll see you later.” Hosea looked over at her as she grabbed onto the reins and lead them out to the road, “Dutch asked him to look into something. To do with the Braithwaite horses, I think.”

“Dutch is alway’s askin’ someone...” she sighed for a moment, “What are we doing again?”

“I think the good citizens taking the trouble to return their stolen goods deserve some reward, don’t you? And it’s time we made a formal introduction, like Dutch told us.” She shook her head a little, not overly agreeing with everything Dutch says, “Look, these are two big old plantation houses and all I hearing is they hate each other so much they can’t see past it.”

“Well, guess we’re gonna find out...” they turned down a long road, until they reached a vast land, white fences, and a huge house down the ways, “Makes ya sick...seein’ how rich these folk are.”

“I’m sure there’s money in this for us somewhere, if we can get in the middle of it.”

 The wagon went down a long road, big trees on either side of them. They stopped near a stone archway, “We’re here...”

“Modest little homestead, isn’t it?”

A few men walked over to them and she couldn’t feel more uncomfortable. Hosea put on his best voice as he spoke to them, “Hello, gentlemen, how are you?”

“What’s that in the back there?” One of them asked.

“Moonshine, my fine fellow. May I have a word with the man of the house?”

“The “man” of the house is a lady. Mrs. Catherine Braithwaite.”

Rose kept quiet as Hosea spoke, “May I speak with her? I want to discuss a business opportunity. I mean no harm...no harm at all...you may happily shoot me if I do.”

“Okay, okay. She’s at the house.” Rose flicked the reins, as the horses started forward as one of the men hopped onto the back, “We’ll be watching you.” They went towards the huge house, it was a gorgeous place, maybe not for Rose though. Too damn big.

They stopped outside the house as a woman opened the door, yelling out, “What you want?”

“Found something...out in the hills, thought—“ Rose climbed down slowly, trying not to get the skirt stuck in anything. Hosea climbed down the other side, “thought maybe you was in the market for it.”

“For what?”

“Some liquor.”

“I ain’t in the market for what’s already mine.” Man this woman was a piece of work.

Rose walked over with Hosea, “Way we see it, it’s ours. What with us possessing it and I-I checked all over, for the life of me I couldn’t see your name on it.” As they neared the woman, a group of men slowly came out from behind the doors, guns in hand. Rose rested her hands on her hips looking at the lot of them, “relax, I ain’t here to rob you. Though it seems that’s easy enough. Wanna do a deal. What do you sell that stuff for?” He looked behind him at the wagon.

“Dollar a bottle.” The woman smirked at them.

“Then give us fifty cents.”

“It’s already ours!” She yelled at the both of them.

“Look on it as a reward, for finding the property. Alternative is we go sell it someplace else.”

One of the men walked out, “The alternative is you get shot.”

Rose placed her hand down on her pistol, glaring at the guy, “Wouldn’t be a wise choice, m’friend.”

Hosea looked over at Rose, “Now, who wants to get shot over a bottle or two of liquor?”

The woman laughed and grabbed onto her son’s gun and pulled it back, “Pay the man.” The guy came over and placed the money into Hosea’s hands.

“Pleasure doing business with ya. And, listen...we didn’t take it...least not without orders from—“

“Oh, I know exactly who gave you your orders. Old Sheriff Gray. You know what? I don’t want it. In fact, sir, now you can do me a favour...there’s an extra 10 bucks if you do. Drive the stuff into Rhodes...head over to the tavern run by Mr.Gray and give the stuff out for free.”

“Momma!”

“Hush now!” she hissed. “I believe they call that a promotional expense.”

Hosea laughed and turned away, “As you wish, madam.”

“You two come back sometime and tell me how you made out. Maybe we’ll play a little cribbage.” She turned away from them and walked back into the house. Rose walked over to the wagon and climbed up, and made their way out of the Braithwaite’s property.

“None of this is good. Just don’t feel right.”

“You’re doing fine m’dear...” he stopped looking over at her, “I wanted to ask—wasn’t sure if I should but...what did Milton and Ross talk to you ‘bout, down by the river?”

“Ya already know, they want Dutch. They offered m’freedom for Dutch...”

Hosea nodded his head, “yeah, that’s what you said. I wanted to know what they said ‘bout you.”

“What you mean—“ she looked over to him, as he slowly pulled something out of his pocket.

“Found this, in Valentine. Quite a few of ‘em were up. Took them down, as least what I could find.” She reached over as Hosea took the reins from her. Her eyes wandering over the ink on the wanted poster and the very badly drawn picture of her.

“Gonna turn me in?” she smirked.

“ ‘Course, where did you think we were goin’?” Rose lightly hit his arm as he laughed, “Three thousand is a lot. But no, I ain’t that greedy.”

She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder, “Anyone else know?”

“Dutch, Arthur, Charles, John—“

“Gonna be namin’ all of ‘em?” the thought kind of freaked her out.

“They ain’t gonna sell you out, Rose. It’s just the five of us. Pretty soon it’ll be more though, with those getting posted.”

“I hate those Pinkertons...” she folded up the paper and reached into her pocket to grab a smoke, “Goddamn bastards...” she sat up.

“Apparently, Cornwall’s been pumping a lot of cash into the Pinkertons. Wants to keep their full effort on going after gangs...gangs like us.”

She lit up her smoke, breathing in that tobacco, “Sometimes wonder if it’s worth all this, Hosea. But when I think ‘bout losin’ you, Arthur, Dutch...you’re the only family I got.” She took the reins from him, taking her turn to drive.

“Alright—“ he looked over to her, “this could get ugly. Arthur and Dutch already have that...thing going on in town with the Sheriff, Mr. Gray. Now we’re...inserting ourselves in this blood feud. We’ll need something...”

He looked over to her, smiling and a realization dawned on her face as she looked down at her outfit, “Oh no. That’s why ya made m’dress up!? In case I needed to act like a fool--”

 “It’s a show, m’dear.”

“I ain’t a performer!” she hissed between her teeth.

He placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly, “Of course you’re not. You’re...you’re a business man’s...young...wife.”

“Hosea...please.” she grumbled and shook her head, ““Think of ya like a father and you’re wantin’ me to be your wife—“

Hosea sighed, “Look, all ya need to do is be nice and a little on the flirty side and I’ll do the rest.” He looked at her and grabbed onto her braided hair and untying it, letting her curly hair hang over her shoulders, “Should do that more often.”

“I’d push ya off of here if I didn’t care so damn much, Hosea.”

“Now, now, Missy. It ain’t polite to speak like that to me.”

She groaned, this was going to be a long while. But at least she had her pistol with her. As they reached town she offered the reins, “Well ain’t no wife of yours, is gonna be seen drivin’, my darlin’—“

“You could sound happier, you know.” He took the reins as they reached the Saloon, parking the wagon. Two gentlemen were sitting over to the right. Hosea looked over to her, “Oh m’darlin, ain’t this a quaint little town?” 

She rolled her eyes and climbed down, trying to sound happy as she spoke, “Oh yes, m’love. Reckon we can be happy here, ways from everythin’.”

“Grab two cases of that stuff and follow me.” She went over to the back and grabbed onto them, as she walked over to the two gentlemen sitting outside. Hosea walked over, “Gentlemen! Gentlemen! Quite the town you have here, we just rode in from up north.”

“Hey—“ one of them said, Hosea hurried over to them.

“Hello...hello, I’m Melvin.” Rose walked up beside Hosea with one of the cases, as she placed it down. Hosea wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing his lips against her cheek, “This is m’darlin, Helen.”

“What a pleasure. And what a fine town, I must say.”

He looked over to the men, “How’d you boys...how’d you boys like a couple of bucks? I bet you would.” He went into his pocket and pulled out some money, “One for each of yous. We’re in the new trade of advertising which is an American art form about...ensuring people buy the correct things.”

“I don’t know—“ they didn’t seem all that convinced, though the one feller was looking at Rose, and it wasn’t her face he was looking at.

“One more dollar says give us half an hour, what harm can we do in half an hour? Go along now...enjoy the money!”

“Come along, Helen...just hand out the liquor.” She bent down and picked up the box again and followed Hosea inside, the sound of piano filled her ears, as she walked over beside him, “Get behind the bar.”

She walked over to an opening and into the bar, Hosea’s voice echoing through the room, “Gentlemen...Gentlemen! My name is Melvin. That’s my young and beautiful wife, Helen...She’s got a mouth on her like a sailor, but boy can she pour drinks fast. For the next thirty minutes...The drinks in this here bar, in this here town...are entirely free!” Everyone in the room cheered, “The only rule is that you gotta drink them...so hurry up, put m’wife to work.”

Everyone came flooding up to the bar, all yelling for a drink. She worked fast and quick, pouring into glasses and shoving them left, right and up.

“Hoo, that’s some strong stuff—“

“Just keep ‘em coming.” 

 A few of the gentlemen made some rude calls at her, but all she did was wink, grabbing bottle after bottle and pouring drinks. Hosea came into the bar, gauging the situation.

“Keep it up, m’dear.”

She smirked as she poured, “Better keep something else up tonight—“ She wanted to shoot herself, this was bad. Even the fake flirting was knocking her down a peg. A few gentlemen hollered in laughter at the statement. But Hosea smiled, she was playing along and that’s what he wanted. A couple of hours went by, people were drunk, Rose was still pouring, it wasn’t until a group of men came into the bar that everything went quiet.

“It’s the Lemoyne Raiders.” Someone said.

She looked over at Hosea who was on the stairs and quit pouring the drinks, looking at the lot of them. Not really giving Hosea a chance to speak, she spoke, “Hello gentlemen. What can I do ya for?”

“You—“ They looked over at Hosea, “you’re the bastards who stole the liquor we was gonna buy.” Rose came out from behind the bar. Her hand ready on her pistol.

“Gentlemen!” her voice echoed through the building, “All we’s doin’ is advertising, m’friends. Come in, drink—“

“That’s our goddamn liquor.” Their guns pointed at the both of them, “Boy’s—get ‘em—“

Rose kicked down one of the tables as she hid behind it for cover, Hosea was no longer on the stairs, wondering if he was somewhere up there. She pulled out her pistol quickly and took a couple of shots, taking down two of them, while a couple had run upstairs, “come on, get up here!” Hosea yelled out, Rose hurried over to the stairs and ran up them.

She shot her gun fast and quick, taking down the guy that had grabbed onto Hosea. She hurried over to Hosea, following him for a way out. She turned taking another shot at someone behind her, “We need to get out—“

“There’s only one way out, m’dear—“ they went outside. Hosea looked over the edge of the balcony before someone came and knocked Hosea off and onto the wagon. She stared down before his gun went off. “Come on, Helen!”  Rose hesitated for a moment before she flew off and into the back of the wagon, groaning as she made contact.

“Shit—“ she hissed feeling the pain in her ribs flare up again, “Get goin’—I’ll hold ‘em off—“ she readied her gun, “Ya okay? That fall look like it hurt—“

“I’m fine, Rose—“ He whipped the reins down hard and fast.

“There they go—out that back!”  few men came along on horses. She shot her gun, hitting a few of them, though more showed up. She ducked trying to avoid getting hit.

“Behind us, Rose. Coming out of the alley—“

“Goddamn it!” she yelled out and shot a few more times before she reloaded, feeling a few bullets graze past her. She shot and shot, it felt like it was never gonna end. She hit a few more of them, mostly knocking them off their horses, while a few of them fell down dead. After a few minutes, it seemed they finally ridded themselves of them.

“I think—we’re clear. Let’s pull off over here—“

Hosea stopped the wagon, taking a breather. Rose looked over to him, “Think that old bitch set us up?”

“No...maybe...this place is odd. I’ll go visit Old Ma Braithwaite, see what’s what.”

“Want me to come with?”

Hosea wrapped his arm around her shoulder, “No, you get some rest. You’ve done enough.” He smiled, “You know, we’ve been making money. The chest is filling up again, slowly but surely. Part of me thinks we just get ourselves good and lost...but we still need a lot more money before that can happen. So, for now...let me go give Mrs. Braithwaite some of this moonshine as well...let’s call it a peace offering.”

She smiled softly and pressed her lips against his cheek before climbing down, “Stay safe. I’ll head back to camp then. Get out of this getup.”

Hosea smiled, “That was fun, Helen! We’ll make an actor out of you yet.”

She waved her hand and headed back to camp. Though too much disappointment...Micah was back at the camp and he was with Dutch and Arthur. They were chatting about something as she walked over to them.

“Ms.Reeds—“ Dutch looked at her outfit.

“Don’t ya get attached. It ain’t stayin’ on... “ her gaze went over to Micah’s for a moment, before she looked back at Dutch and Arthur, “So those Braithwaites...they’re real somethin’. Hosea and I had an interestin’ time in town, with that moonshine.”

“So what do you make of ‘em?”

She looked over to Dutch, “I think they’re a bunch of crazy bastards?”

“That’s a given, dear.”

“And I think you’re chasing old ghosts, Dutch. Not that ya like opinions but...” she looked to Arthur for a moment, “there’s mine.”

“Well then here’s mine—“ He looked at the lot of them, “One one side we have got the Gray family. Scots, degenerates...drunkards, the local law. You couldn’t make this stuff up. Rich as Croesus. And on the other...their mortal enemies...The Braithwaites. Moonshiners. Hypocritical, both rolling, we believe.”

“In gold.” Micah chimed in.

“And in the middle of it all, you’ve got some inbred retelling of Romeo and Juliet.”

“Aw—“ Arthur looked to her, “What—it’s nice—“

He looked back to Dutch, “So what you boys thinking?”

Micah walked backwards, hands in the air, “We try to rob them...both.” though he ended up walking away from the three of them.

Rose looked at Dutch, not feeling good about this at all, “That don’t seem like a good idea—“

“Why not?”

“Because we got lawman in three different states after us.” Arthur chimed in.

Dutch looked at the both of them, “Last thing I want is to get us into trouble, but we need money. Now we have the opportunity here to put ourselves in the middle of something, aint nobody gonna know we was here. Because even without us...these fools are gonna kill each other anyway.”

Rose went to walk away, not wanting to really hear anymore shit about it, but turned to look at Dutch, “Well, Hosea’s gone back to see that Braithwaite woman.”

“Good. Hosea should definitely take the lead on this. I sent Sean over to Braithwaite manor too. Now you can meet up with them, or join John and Javier at the Gray’s place—“ She walked away back over to her camp and started to change back into her clothing, not Arthur’s. Arthur came over as she finished changing, not that she would have minded him watching.

“Headin’ out over to the Braithwaites place. See how Hosea is doing.”

Rose nodded her head, “I ain’t performing ever again. Most awkward thing I’ve had to do since I’ve been here—“

“You’re making it sound like it’s a good thing that I didn’t go.”

“Lucky Bastard.” She finished buttoning up her shirt, as Arthur grabbed onto her hat and placed it on her head.

“You gonna be okay, while I’m gone—“ he motioned over to Micah, sitting around with Bill and Uncle.

She smiled softly, “That’s what I got m’gun for. Go...Ya know I can take care of m’self.”

His lifted up his hands, “I know.”

She looked at him for a moment, “Here—“ as she untied her red bandana and tied it around Arthur’s neck. Her arms resting on his shoulders as she lingered close to him.

“I can’t take that from ya.” He looked down at her and smirked, “Considerin’ you’ll just steal it back—“

“Naw, I want ya have it. Looks better on ya anyways.” She smiled before her lips pressed softly against his, “Now go.” He walked away from her. She stood there in silence for what seemed like forever, why she hadn’t moved was beyond her. Things just didn’t feel right. But maybe she was being paranoid, running from the law would do that.

“Ms.Reeds.” Dutch’s voice called out to her, “May I have a word—“ she walked over to his tent, and opened the flap, peeking her head in, “Depends,” she couldn’t see any sign of Molly, “is Ms.O’Shea gonna shoot me?”

“Couldn’t say, I don’t know where she is.”  He stood up from his bed and walked over to her, “Trelawny, said he had some information. I’d like you to go and see what all the fuss is about.”

“Just me?” Her eyes left his as they wandered around his tent, why did his stuff look so much goddamn nicer than everyone else’s?

Dutch watched her, “Take whoever you want.”

“Is that a hint?” she looked back over at him and smirked. The space in the tent didn’t seem all that big, and when Dutch came closer to her, it felt even smaller.

“You wantin’ me to come?”

“Depends on how useful you’d be, Dutch.” She lightly pushed him back down on the cot, “Are ya useful?”

“I’m many things, dear.” She could see that look in his eyes, lust, desire. He looked up at her as his hands reached out and grabbed onto hers, “I can be whatever you need me to be.”

“Dutch—“  he stood up, looking at her, “Please—don’t—“

He stood up and looked down at her hands for a moment, before his eyes grazed along hers. The pads of his thumbs running along her skin, “Don’t what, Rose? Is it a crime to want to be near you?”

Her cheeks dusted a red color, she wasn’t mad at Dutch. But it didn’t help anything with the way he was with her, “No…it ain’t—“she watched his eyes, he hands feeling very hot as he held them, “What do ya want from me, Dutch?”

“I think you know.”

She shook her head and pulled her hands away quickly, “this ain’t a game, Dutch. Ya can’t keep hurtin’ me and expectin’ something good to come out of it.” She hurried out of his tent and went walking along the shoreline, needing to think without anyone in her ear. But that wasn’t going to happen, as she heard the click of a gun, was it Dutch?

No…

It was Molly.

Rose watched her, holding tightly onto the gun. She was drunk and her words slurred a little as she yelled at her.

“I knew it—ya damn—bitch—“ the gun shook in her hand, she was mighty angry with Rose.

Rose breathing was light, she was far enough from camp, but hopefully close enough for someone to hear, “Molly—you’re drunk—“

“I—I saw ya with that rat bastard in our tent—“

“He was askin’ me ‘bout seein’ Trelawny, Molly…” she kept her hands up, as a sign of good faith, “I swear—nothing—“

“I warned ya. You’re playin’ a dangerous game—“

She wasn’t wrong...“Molly—“ Rose went to walk forward, but it didn’t seem to help anything.

“Ya stay away from me— you’re a tart, like the rest of ‘em—liars—bastards—“ she kept the gun pointed at Rose, “That’s what ya are—“

“Ms.O’Shea—“ It was Dutch, Micah and Charles, “there is no need to be pointin’ that thing at her—“

“I’ll shoot her.” Molly came closer to Rose, “try enjoy fuckin’ her, when she’s dead—“

“Molly—“ Dutch went to walk over to her, but that only urged on her trigger finger.

“Don’t Dutch—“ Rose yelled out, her eyes on Molly and that gun, “Don’t—ya ain’t helpin—“ the more Molly inched closer, the more she was she sure she could try and get the gun from her, or at least divert the bullet, “Molly—please—“

“I warned ya. Ya didn’t listen—“ Her breathing was heavy, yet slurred, “ya didn’t listen—“ As Molly went to fire the gun, Rose went forward and pressed the palm of her hand over the barrel, covering the hole. As she lifted the gun up, the gun went off as the bullet pushed through her right hand. Blood began to pour down her arm as a deafening scream echoed through the skies.Molly dropped the bloody gun, drunk and unsure. Charles ran over to Rose and grabbed onto her, helping her up and taking her over to the camp. She looked behind to see Dutch and he looked beyond pissed off. But that didn’t stop Molly from yelling back.

Rose gritted her teeth, as tears rolled down her face. There wasn’t any other way. Molly intended on shooting her for dead. She looked down at the gaping hole in her hand and she wanted to throw up. Charles came down beside her, handing her a bottle of whiskey, “Drink up—You’ll need that first—“

She nodded her head and took a swig of it, before he grabbed it as he looked at her, “this’ll hurt—“ he poured some of the alcohol onto her wound, it stung so goddamn much.

“Fuck—“ she cried, the smell of blood and whiskey filled her senses. Her hand shook as he grabbed onto some fabric and wrapped it around her hand. She didn’t know where Susan was but… Charles seemed to be doing fine.

“Hold on—“ Charles left her sitting on her cot, her body shaking as she sat there. It wasn’t until she tried to light a smoke that Micah showed up as he had lit a match for her.

“T—thanks…” she took a puff of her smoke.

“Ya know how to piss everyone off, now don’t you?”

“Ain’t the time for it, Micah—“ she shook, trying to take another puff, “though I won’t lie. Was wonderin’ when you was gonna snake your way over here—“

“What, you been thinking about my offer?”

She laughed, a couple of tears sliding down her face, “Oh your threat? Goddamn bastard—“ she looked over at him, “what you want?”

He smirked, “I want what’s owed. And I intend to collect.”

“Ya touch me— and you’re a dead man, Micah Bell…” she was starting to wonder if maybe it would be easier if she just fucked the guy. Then maybe he wouldn’t try and force himself… whenever that might be. He didn’t say anything to her response, but smiled as he walked away from her. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute in her chest, it was the sound of Dutch and Molly screaming at each other that made her leave her cot as she walked over to them.

“Have you lost your goddamn mind, Molly!? You could have killed her—you’re lucky I don’t shoot you myself for what you did—“

“Fuck you, Dutch—“ she screamed back, before her eyes caught onto Rose. But she didn’t say anything as she pushed past Rose and away from the camp. A small heat formed in her hand and suddenly she felt warm, and that…was never a good sign.

The anger left Dutch’s face as he saw Rose. For once she looked lost and helpless. Her cheeks were flushed a deep red and her eyes looked a little dazed. He slowly made his way over to her, his hands grabbing onto her shoulders as he lead her back to her cot.

She looked down at her hand, the booze was starting to hit hard and for a moment, she was grateful. It almost dulled the pain in her hand, though…she just wasn’t sure if it had gone numb. Where the hell had Charles gone? Dutch kneeled down on the ground and checked her hand, “Dutch?”

“Yes?” His eyes went up to hers.

“Can ya—” she motioned over to the lake, “help m’over to the water--"

“Of course, m'dear.” She used her good arm to grab onto his, as they walked over to the water. She pulled away from him as she slipped off her boots. And most of her clothing, leaving her in nothing but her undergarments. She walked into the slowly, Dutch grabbed onto her arm, “What are you doing--?”

She turned her head, with nothing but shadows covering most of her. “if I don’t come back in 5 minutes. Make sure I ain’t dead…”

“Rose--"

She pulled away from him, letting the cold water surround her. It went up and up with each step, till she reached her chest. Feeling a lot cooler than before. It was stupid to be out here, she'd drown if she wasn’t careful. But maybe it’s a part of what she wanted. Death. It was inevitable wasn’t it? For someone like her…it was knocking on her door each day. She could lay back and close her eyes, drift away from everything. The temperature in her body dropped, which made her finally leave the water as she was getting cold. She went back to shore and to where Dutch had been standing for the whole time, watching her.

He looked down past her breasts and to her hand, the cloth soaked with blood, “Come on—better get that stitched up.” She pressed her good hand on his chest and looked up at him.

 Perhaps she was delirious but, she went forward and pressed her lips against his cheek, softly, tenderly… before she whispered against his ear, “Lust—is a hard thing to battle Dutch...” she pulled away to look at him, “Ya always have that part of me, that no one ain’t ever gonna have. Maybe it’s why this hurts. Why I find m’self-- wantin—”

His lips pressed against her deeply, pulling her mostly naked form against him. She could feel his arousal straining against his pants. He groaned deep in his chest, her body feeling both a pleasure and painful ache. Dutch ran his hands along her sides before pulling away and looking down at her scarred skin, realizing... he hadn’t really looked at her before. She pulled away from him and slipped on her clothing, cringing a lot at the pain in her hand. “I’ll head out in the mornin’ and go see Trelawny—“ she felt a sadness creeping up on her, “I’ll go alone—“

“You don’t have too, Rose—“

“Naw, it’s best—Goddamn it—“ she gritted through her teeth, trying to slip her injured hand through the sleeve of her blouse. Dutch walked over to her and started to help.

“I never realized...” he slowly started buttoning up her shirt, “how much Colm had hurt you.”

“He’s hurt a lot of people, Dutch. I ain’t no exception...” she pulled away from him and walked back towards her cot, where Susan was waiting, hopefully to sew her up.


	4. Clemens Point Pt-2

It was a few days later, she had seemingly slept for quite a while after the endeavour with Molly and of course Molly hadn’t been seen either. Rose got up from her bed, and looked over seeing Arthur, “Mornin’.” She sat up, cringing at the pain in her hand, she’d have to avoid using it for a long while. She looked seeing her bandana still around his neck and smiled to herself, “I’m guessin’ ya know—“

“Micah told me.” He looked down at her hand, “Though, I can’t understand why you’d do such a stupid thing—“

“Ya want me dead? Cause that’s what she was intendin’, Arthur...”

He shook his head and sat beside her, “That ain’t what I meant.”

She nodded her head and leaned over, kissing him on the cheek, “I missed ya.” She whispered and stood up from her bed, slipping on her jacket as she looked down at him.

“I ain’t sayin’ it back.” He stood up and looked at her.

“Ain’t no fun.” She pouted playfully and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. His hands automatically went to her sides, looking down at her eyes, “Fine—what else can ya give me?”

“I ain’t got a whole lot to give, Rose.” He meant that, on both a joking and serious level. Not that she cared though, he always had something to give and even though it wasn’t a lot...she loved him anyways.

“I better get goin’—“ she pressed her lips against his lovingly as his hand went up and cupped the side of her face, deepening the kiss. Maybe one day he would love her back? That was the dream for her. She pulled away and made her way to her horse.

As she trotted her way out of camp, Charles came up beside her. She looked at him, not really saying a word. They both knew why he was there and why he was coming with.

_Dutch._

They made their way to the road and headed over to Rhodes, “I know you don’t like always having company with you. But—“

She waved her hand, “Honestly, better you than Micah comin’ with. I knew Dutch wasn’t gonna let me go alone. Though I can’t understand why...Trelawny has information, how bad can that be?”

Charles laughed, “You don’t know him very well, do you?”

“Naw, can’t say I do.” She shook her head, “from what I understand he’s quite the chatter box.” They galloped along through the fields. She knew Charles, but it was nice to finally have some time to talk with him one on one.

“I don’t know him very well, but...he’s a strange one. When me and Jaiver went down with Trelawny to get Sean, I swear he talked the whole way and never actually said a damn thing.”

Rose laughed, her right hand shaking a bit from the pain, “Well he sounds mighty fun!”

“He isn’t. Trust me.” He looked over to her hand, “How is it feeling?”

“It fuckin’ hurts.” She looked down at it for a moment, “That bullet would have gone right through m’chest if I hadn’t—done this...“ she stopped, remembering how mad Molly was...and how drunk. Lord knows if it would happen again. They traveled along, reaching the caravans, most of them run down and shit looking. Rose climbed down from her horse, “Think it’s that one—with the fire outside—“ she walked over.

Charles started up the stairs, realizing something, as he pulled out his gun, “Someone got here first—“

Rose followed, her hand on her pistol as she walked into the caravan, it was messy, things had been thrown around and there was some blood on the ground. Charles went around the place, but saw no body.. at least not yet.

“Least he ate...“ Rose looked at the table, “Was in a hurry to get out of here...” she walked over to the bed, “Bed’s not made, so he must have been here recently.” She walked out the back door, her horse ready to go as she climbed up.

“They went down the hill---“ Charles said as they followed some tracks along the road, “How’s your tracking?”

“Pretty good...for a woman.” She kept her eyes long the ground, but she wasn’t feeling good about it, “they could be twenty miles away by now...” they went along, till they reached a camp, where two men were sat, “Look—Let’s go see what those fellers have to say.” They stopped and climbed down from their horses. Rose walked over with a kind smile on her face.

“Excuse me, gentlemen.” She walked over.

“Yeah?”

“Have you seen...we’re...we’re looking for our friend.” The one guy laying down started to get up. She wasn’t stupid, tracks lead right here. For now.

“I don’t think he’s here...”

She looked over at Charles for a second, “Nah...you seen a strange sort of feller...sort of formal? Never shuts up...”

“Stranger, sure.” One of them answered, “Formal, no.”

Charles bend down to pick something off the ground, “He uses a cane, looks a lot like this one.”

Rose laughed for a moment, her eyes edged as she looked at the two men, “Alright fellers...where the hell is he?” she yelled out.

“You both better get out of here—“ the one guy came and punched Rose as the other one attacked Charles.

She was at a disadvantage with her right hand but, she made do with it. Hoofing the guy a few times with her feet, before she punched him square in the nose, he went back and hit hard against the tree, going unconscious. She turned her attention back over to the other one as he squirmed beneath Charles foot. He moved away as she grabbed onto the scruff of his neck, “Now see what you’ve done. Where’s Trelawny?”

“I don’t know anything.”

She slapped him hard across the face, “Tell me—“

“You go to hell!”

“Ya better tell me now, ya son of a bitch!” she gritted through her teeth and went to hit him again when he spoke up.

 “Okay..okay...for Christ’s sake. They took him to a cabin, over by the cornfields.”

“Which cornfields?”

“Left...down the path there...by Braithwaite Manor.”

Rose smiled, “See, was that so hard?” before he punched him hard, leaving him unconscious. They walked over to their horses and climbed up.

“Follow me. I think there’s a way around. So we don’t have to go through the Braithwaites place.”

They started to gallop through the valley, “Yes. Going there once was ‘nough for me. After you, then.” They took a road, leading around the Braithwaite Manor.

“To be honest, I don’t know why Dutch still deals with him.”

Rose looked over to Charles, “There’s probably a reason for that, Charles. If he’s useful then...Ya know loyalty matters to Dutch.”

“Of course, but is Trelawny loyal?”

“I don’t know. Ya tell me?” She shook her head, almost reaching their destination as they went through a field filled with nothing but empty houses, more like shells of houses, “If he did say anythin’ ‘bout the gang. I can promise ya that I’ll get it out of him.” She winked.

“Almost there—“ Charles said as they started through the cornfield, seeing a small cabin.

“That must be it.” They stopped and hopped off their horses, as two men started to bring out Trelawny.

“Let’s get you outta here. Come on, boy—after that shack, this will be remembered like a good time.”

Charles pulled out his gun and pointed it at the men, Trelawny looked a bit beaten up, Rose sauntered over, also pointing her gun at the two of them, “Thank ya so much fellers, for finding him. Now if y’all could kindly put him down. We’ll take it from here.”

They stared at the both of them, before they dropped Trelawny and ran off towards the cornfield. Charles ran over to him.

“That the lot of them?” Rose asked.

“I think so...” he groaned. Charles ran off for the others.

Rose came down beside him, as she started to work at the rope around his ankles, “Well funny man. You’re alive.”

“Allegedly, m’dear.”

“Well, they won’t be for much longer.”

“Go get them, Rose. I can handle this.” He started at the rope as she ran over to the cornfield, her gun tight in her left hand as she ran down between the patches of corn rows and followed Charles.

“Who knows what he told them, let’s get after those sons of bitches.”

“They’ve gone into the cornfields. We need to flush them out.”

_This’ll be fun..._

Charles and Rose ran through the cornfields. Didn’t seem like there was many of them. But boy were they hard to track down. A flock of birds flew out far over to the left as she ran down, seeing one of them sneak through. The sound of her bullet echoed as one of them fell down.

“Got one—“ she whispered to herself, Charles gun sounding off as well. She ran through the corn rows, searching as best as she could, feeling like it was never ending, “Goddamn it—I can’t see the fuckers—“ she ran through and through, keeping her aim as she moved through, finally she went in. Feeling she might have a better chance at getting whoever was left.

“Hey—I see something on the ground over here—“ She walked over to where Charles was and looked down, seeing a couple of weapons on the ground, someone was still around, “He dumped his gear, look around, he can’t have gone far.”

Her eyes wandered along as she walked through, trying to find the guy and finding it hard to see what was what, “Come on out—ya little shit—“ however the guy was the one that got the jump on her. As he hit her with the butt of his rifle in the side of her face, she hissed out in pain as she fell down onto the ground.  

“Pretty thing, ain’t ya?” the guy whispered.

She smiled, tasting the blood in her mouth, “Ya well—you ain’t—“ The man straddled her, his one hand tight around her neck. He pointed his gun up at Charles.

“She’s mine—Let me take her...you get outta here.”

Charles held up his hands, walking slowly towards them, “You have my friend...”

_Ya fool, get the fuck out of here..._

“She’s not your friend...I’ll give you money...”

Charles reached into his pocket, grabbing onto something, “Oh be quiet—“ the knife flew into the guys neck, the pressure coming off her neck as she pushed him off, her breathing hard and ragged as she spit out some blood.

“Come on—“

She breathed out, “Ya should have taken the money.” 

“I know. I’m a fool.”

“Thank ya. Really.” She smiled for a moment before some gunshots sounded off. She looked over to a barn, as she made her way over, “Gunshots—they’re coming from that barn. Come on—“

 They ran over, her pistol tight in her left hand, she lifted it up, shooting the one up in the loft. Charles getting the other one on the porch. “Alright, that should be the last of them.”

She looked down at her right hand, seeing the blood seep through her bandage. She was over doing it again. “Let’s go back for Trelawny.”

“Okay.” Charles walked with Rose, back up the hill to the cabin.

“You alright?”

“Yeah. But I should be asking you that.” He motioned to her hand and the bruising on her face.

“Well, doesn’t get any easier. I’m still alive, ain’t I?”

“For now.” Charles chuckled.

The sun was beating down on the two of them as they walked up the hill, though she felt tired and pain seemed to be everywhere on her, “Let’s go see how badly they beat up the poor sod.” They hurried up to him, seeing him sat on a chair outside the cabin and boy did he look mighty awful. Rose went over to him, “How ya doing?”

“Never finer—“

She reached down, helping him off the chair, “Who were they? Them fellers?” he groaned a bit as she helped him up and walked with him over to the horses.

“They were bounty hunters, attached to Cole Stoudemire.” She nodded her head, letting him talk, “They weren’t looking for me...per se.”

“Of course—What did you tell them?”

“Not much. I—I told them I was an intellectual...come down here from Oregon.” He groaned trying to move, “looking for a job at the university.” She helped him up onto his horse, “course they didn’t believe me...”

Rose walked over to her horse and climbed up, “Well, you’re safe now. I hope.”

“It might be best if I stay with the lot of you for a while. Can’t go back to that caravan now.”

“Alright, Charles. Take Mr.Trelawny back to camp...I need to head out to Saint Denis.” She looked over at Charles and Josiah, “Not a peep ‘bout it boys.”

“You have my word, m’dear.” Josiah bowed his head, “Thank you.”

Charles nodded his head in acknowledgement.

“Ya well...Stay out of trouble, Josiah.” She waved her hand and headed out the other way.

The closest doctor she knew about was in Saint Denis and that is where she was intending to go. She would be gone for a few days. She knew Charles would keep his mouth shut, but now she was worried about Josiah... as according to Charles, Trelawny never shuts up.

It took a while to get to Saint Denis, big city, really bustling in the new civilization. However it made her realize that things were changing and people like her, Arthur, Dutch...they weren’t meant for this world no more. Nothing good would come out of them being around and with the Pinkerton agency and Cornwall...was there really any hope left for them? She trotted her way into the main street of the city. She hitched her horse to a post and made her way along the streets, asking a few people if they knew where the doctor was, cause she didn’t know.

After some time, she finally found the place and walked through the doors. She went over to the window, “Can I see the doctor?”

The woman at the desk smiled, “Course. He’ll be right with you.”

Rose waited for a long while, at least that’s what it felt like. After some time he walked out and motioned her to come in and sit. She went into her pocket and pulled out some money, handing it over to him.

“Thank you.” He nodded his head and sat down in a chair in front of her, “What can I help you with?”

“Well, would like ya to check, this wound—“ she motioned to her hand, “and I’d like your opinion on something, cause I’m...a little worried.”

“Of course.” He looked down at her hand, unwrapping the bandage, “Ooh—nasty wound.” She cringed a bit as examined it, “You talk. What are your symptoms?”

She leaned back in the chair, “Well..over the last six months, I’ve notice I’m more tired lately and I’ve been bruising pretty easily.”

“Well, you get hit hard—“

“No—I mean little things. Bumpin’ into things and I’m damaged. Most bruising I get...it doesn’t really...heal properly.” She laughed softly for a moment, “I just—this never happened to me before. I’m worried.”

He stitched up her hand again and wrapped it up, “Well—I’m gonna be honest with you.”

“Okay?”

“I don’t know, what it could be. There are lots of diseases and illnesses that being fatigued, could accompany. The bruising easily, well...I couldn’t tell you.”

Her breathing was light as she sat there, “You’re tellin’ me, that ya don’t know if somethin’s wrong?”

He sighed, looking at her, before he lit up a pipe, “I’m sorry. All I can tell you is, keep eating properly, get your sleep. And avoid injuring yourself.” He motioned down to her hand.

She closed her eyes for a moment, “I highly doubt that’ll happen...” she stood up from the chair, “Thanks again.”

“I’m real sorry, miss.”

“Me too—“ she turned and walked out of the room and the building, wondering what she should do next. So she went to the Saloon, not the shit one. But the expensive one, after she grabbed her horse and took it across town. She walked into the Saloon, fancy people, like fancy places. She walked up to the bar, “Whiskey, please—“

“That’s a dollar—“

Her eyes widened as she laughed, handing over the money, “Well, better be some damn fine whiskey.”

“Oh it is.” He poured the drink and handed it over to her, “Ain’t seen you ‘round here before.”

She chugged back the drink, “City life don’t really agree with me. Would prefer to be out West.” Her eyes wandered around the building. It really was a nice place, “Ya run baths here?”

“Sure do—two dollars.” She handed over some more money, “Just up the stairs, and to your right. Can’t miss it.”

“Thank ya.” She smiled and made her way up the stairs and over to the room marked “Bath”. She shut the door tightly behind her, and slipped off her clothing. She turned to look in the mirror at herself, seeing the bruising near her ribs from when she fell and the bruising on her arms and face. Something was wrong...but even the doctor couldn’t tell her what. “Fuck—“ she breathed out, closing her eyes tightly. For the most part, she felt fine, minus aching from time to time and figured it was just from age. She climbed into the bath, the water almost stinging her skin this time and for some reason, that comforted her. She leaned back against the tub, soaking in the water, staring at the bubbles that floated around her.

“Wonder if Dutch is losin’ his mind right now?” she stopped hearing the sound of the piano coming from downstairs and the sound of a man singing. Her heart clenched tightly in her chest, she used to sing that to Agatha when she was younger. She leaned against the tub, listening to the words.

**“Through the long days and years,**

**What will my loved one be,**

**Parted from me?**

**Through the long days and years,**

**Always as then she was,**

**Loveliest, brightest, best,**

**Blessing and blest,**

**Always as then she was—“**

 

She wanted to hear it more clearly and hurried out of the tub and got dressed, heading to the top of the stairs. The music filled her ears, as so did the memories of Agatha. She leaned against the wall, listening, and feeling pain rise up in her.

 

**“Never on earth again,**

**Shall I before her stand,**

**Touch lip or hand,**

**Never on earth again.**

**But, while my darling lives,**

**Peaceful I journey on,**

**Not quite alone,**

**Not while my darling lives,**

**While my darling lives.”**

 

Rose closed her eyes, breathing slowly and wiping away any tears that fell down her face. A lot of people clapped as she stayed there for a moment. She had taken Agatha to go and see a show at the theatre. It was 1885 and it was the only thing on at the time. She wasn’t sure why Agatha loved it so, but Rose learned the words for her and whenever Agatha felt scared...she’d sing it to her. It seemed so long ago now. Rose kept her face hidden for a bit, wanting to hide the tears that were threatening to fall. Felt like they were never going to stop. She pulled herself away from the wall and made her way back down to the bartender and rented a room.

A few days later, she left the saloon, figuring it would be good to head back to camp. It was nice to have a break from everyone. She led her horse along the street, deciding to stop at the tailors before heading back. Her poor shirt had seen enough action and well, white clearly didn’t bode well for her. Hitching her horse again, she walked along the side of the building and up the stairs and over to the doors of the tailors. Everything everywhere was nice and fancy, a little too much for Rose. The man at the counter greeted her with a smile as she walked through the doors.

“Good day to you, miss. What can I help you with?”

She looked around, making her way over slowly to the counter, “Ya, I’m lookin’ to get ‘nother shirt? But no dresses please. I ain’t into that—“

The man smiled and waved his hand, “No worries, miss. We are living in a modern age now.”

“Sure.” She nodded her head.

He looked over at a door, “You know, our fitting room right now is currently being used. But—“ he handed her over a catalogue, “Ya can browse through here for the time being.”

“Thank ya.” She opened up the book, browsing through the shirts, wondering what the hell she should be getting. Though there wasn’t a big selection.

“There a specific style you looking for, miss?”

“Well—“

“I don’t think she has a style.” She turned her head from the catalogue and looked over seeing Dutch. Of course. Who else?

“I swear to the lord, Dutch if one of them boys told where I—“

He lifted up his hands, “Calm down, Rose. Where do you think I get my clothing?”

“From the devil.” She smirked. Dutch walked over to her, and looked down at the catalogue.

“About time you got some more clothing.”

“Yeah well—“ she looked down at her shirt, “shouldn’t have gotten white.” She looked up at the man, “I’ll try this on, got it in different colors?”

“We sure do, miss—“ he lead her over to the fitting room, “Now hold on there, let me grab you some—“ she stood near the door, her eyes looking over at Dutch.

“You heading back to camp today?”

Rose nodded her head, “Ya, was thinkin’ I should.”

Dutch smiled, “Then I’ll wait.”

The man came back, shoving a few of the shirts into her hands, “Go on, miss. Let me know if one takes your fancy.”  

She walked into the room and placed the clothing down onto the chair, slipping off her jacket and hat. Slowly she started to unbutton her shirt, her eyes in the mirror as she saw the door open. She wasn’t stupid, she knew it’d be Dutch. As he seemed to have an issue with personal space, “Now, please tell me how ya managed to get in here without the owner seein’ ya?”

“I have my ways...” he walked up behind her, pressing his front against her back side, “Not going to throw me out?” he whispered against her ear.

“What good would that do me?” her eyes closed, feeling his breath tickling her ears. His hands slid around as he unbuttoned her shirt, watching as it exposed her skin, inch by inch. Her eyes looked at his through the mirror, “It wouldn’t stop ya—“

His hands slid down, to her belt as he unbuckled it, “Then tell me—and I’ll stop—“

She wasn’t even sure if he was lying, her hands ran along his, watching him, “Then don’t.” He slipped off her shirt running his hands along her skin, though seeing the bruising on her skin made her feel self conscious. His lips pressed against her neck as he stood with her there—a knock on the door caused her to panic.

“Everything going good in there—“

She laughed, trying to be quiet, Dutch nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck, “Everything is—just fine. I’m trying to decide which I color I like more.”

“Very good!” he walked away.

“Dutch—“ she whispered as he turned her around to face him, “we’re gonna get caught—“

“No—“ he cupped her face and kissed her softly, “we ain’t—“

She knocked off his hat, her fingers working at his vest and shirt, “Ya need to stop—lovin’ me—no good gonna come outta that—“

“Do you want me—“ he whispered against her lips.

She felt guilty, so goddamn guilty, “Yes.” Her breathing was hard as she slipped of his shirt and vest, letting it pool to the floor. She wrapped her arms around his back, feeling his skin so hot against hers. His hands ran down her sides, pushing down her pants and undergarments. Her hands moved down to his pants, pushing them down freeing his cock from its confines.  Her eyes looking up at his, “get on the floor...”

Dutch didn’t argue and did so, looking up at her as she came down and straddled his hips, the tip of his cock resting against her entrance. When it came to this, he wasn’t a patient man. He sat up quickly and pulled her hard against him, the feeling of him filled her with a single stroke. She gasped lightly, trying to keep quiet. He groaned, resting his hands on her hips, her legs now wrapped around his waist.

“Goddamn—“ he whispered, “Can’t get enough of you.”

“Dutch...” she breathed out, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. His lips locking onto hers, as he moved in her, hard and slow. She pulled away to get some air, her forehead resting against his. She was sure at any moment the store owner would come and knock on the door again.

“Rose—“ he thrust into her, watching the way she reacted to him. It made him feel good. Made him feel powerful. He wanted to tame her, wanted her to be his.

“I’m close—“ she whispered, her hands cupping his face, “Harder—“ she begged. He moved her down onto the floor, his hips hitting hard and fast against hers. Her fingers ran through his hair and pulled him close. She could feel the pressure of pleasure between her legs, but also the pain in her body. “I need ya—“ the pain almost seemed unbearable, but she didn’t want to stop, “I need to feel ya—“

“You will—“ his fingers dug into her hips, lingering over her, “--feel everything.“ she pulled his lips against hers, a few tears running down the sides of her face. Her moans muffled as she came, pulsing hard around him. He thrust into her slowly, riding out her orgasm, his moans vibrating against her lips as he came. He went to pull away to down look at her, but she wrapped her arms tightly around him, hiding her face. There were tears in her eyes, but didn’t want him to see, “Rose?”

A knock sounded at the door, “Everything alright in there, Miss? You’ve been in there for a while...”

“That’s the one!” she yelled out and moved away from Dutch, “Ah yes...I’ve found one. I’m real sorry—I’ll—“ she grabbed onto her clothing, “be out shortly—“

Dutch stood up and grabbed onto his clothes. She changed quickly, deciding on the blue blouse to purchase. They both finished changing, “I’ll go out first—“ she whispered, still not looking at him.

He grabbed onto her arm, “Look at me, Rose—“

“No—I want to go home. I’ll see you outside.”

But his grip wouldn’t let up, “No. Look at me.” He yanked her arm. She cringed and turned, her other hand making hard contact with his face. Her eyes looked at his, a little red and glossed over, but angry as fuck.

“Are ya fuckin’ happy now?” she hissed through her teeth.

It was unexpected as Dutch threw her against the wall, pinning her there as his hand cupped around her throat, squeezing tightly. She gasped, her eyes wide and looking at him before a smirk played along her lips, “Go ahead—“ she closed her eyes for a moment, “kill me, Dutch...It’ll be the only good thing ya ever do for me...”

His grip loosened at the comment, “Why can’t you love me?”

“What are ya gonna do, Dutch. Run away with me? Marry me? Tell me—“ he slowly moved his hand from her neck, “have a family with me?” She instantly regretted her words. “I thinkin’...that time has passed for someone like me.” His hands slid down to her stomach, lightly touching her.

He looked distraught, heartbroken. Watching her and seeing the redness around her neck. Perhaps Dutch was losing his mind. She pulled away and turned back to the door and peeking her head out of the door before she walked back over to the counter, trying to cover her neck.

“I heard a loud noise, everything alright, miss?”

“Yes—I tripped over the carpet.”

“I am terribly sorry about that! But I am glad to see you have decided. Color looks lovely on you.”

Rose smiled softly, “Thank you and again, real sorry—I just...couldn’t decide.” She said, handing over four dollars and fifteen cents to the feller. She put on her hat and made her way out the doors, towards where her horse was hitched. Dutch could go back on his own, she needed to get out quick, galloping through the  streets and out of Saint Denis.

It wasn’t far outside of town when she ran into a couple of men. She felt something tighten around her midsection before she got yanked off her horse. The ground came hard and fast, as she cried out and being dragged for a few feet before they stopped and climbed off their horses.

“Well lookie here—“ The one bent down and flipped her over, “for an outlaw yous sure are mighty fine—“

“Ya better—“ she hissed in pain, “let go—“

“Or else what—“ a gun sounded off as the one feller fell down dead.

“That—“ she breathed out, laughing for a moment, “better—run—“

He looked up, only to have a bullet go through his head. A little bit of blood spattered on her clothing, “Goddamn it--“

He came over and cut the ropes off of her, “Well next time, don’t bugger off so damn quick—“ He helped her off the ground.

“Fuck you, Dutch.” She pulled away from him, “Ain’t I allowed to be on m’own?”

“That seems to get you into trouble.”

“Accordin’ to ya.” She whistled for her horse, hearing the sound of her galloping, “Ya got what ya wanted, Dutch. To fuck me. Ain’t that what ya wanted?”

“I want you, all of you.” He stood a few feet away from her.

She closed her eyes, “I’m tired of fightin’ with ya, Dutch. I’m so...goddamn tired of it.”

Dutch went over and climbed up on his horse, “What the hell do you want, Rose?”

She shook her head, feeling angry, tired, hurting, “Ya really want to know? Fine—have it your way--” He looked over at her, “I want a family...m’own goddamn family and that baby—“ she grabbed onto Lily’s reins, petting her horse, “Was the only chance I had...and it was lost. To vicious men, praying on those doin’ no wrong.” She climbed up onto her horse, cringing at the pain she felt, “Don’t matter what ya do on this world, Dutch. Ya don’t always get what ya want. Coulda had a family with ya. Been with a man that loves me...” she laughed softly, “But it ain’t how it went. This is how it has to be, Dutch. The only way it can be.”  

“It doesn’t have to be that way, Rose.”

“Dutch, it don’t matter how many men ya kill. How many places ya rob. How many goddamn plans ya seem to have—ya can’t change what’s happening. You and I—we’re nothing to this world. I am nothing. I am in fading world and I almost...envy Agatha not havin’ to be here.”

The anger left his face, “You’re everything to me.”

She looked over at him, “We’ll see, Dutch. When it comes down to everything...we’ll see...” she started to trot away, Dutch following not far behind. They made it back to camp and climbed off their horses before they walked over to Arthur and Micah.

“Gentlemen...” Dutch walked over. Rose walking over as well, though Arthur’s eyes went down to the slight bruising on her neck.

“Dutch...” Micah looked over to Pearson, “You tell him fat man.”

“It’s peace, Dutch...” He continued to walk over to his tent, “with the O’Driscolls. I mean, I think there’s a way.”

Dutch walked into his tent, doing something as Rose stood beside Arthur, watching “Colm? Peace? I think ya hit your goddamn head, Pearson—“ Rose shook her head.

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Micah patted Pearson’s back, “Get the words out properly, fat man.”

Pearson walked into Dutch’s tent, “I met a couple of the O’Driscoll boys on the road into town...thing were about to get ugly...but you know how I am in a fight, huh?”

“Oh boy—“ Rose rolled her eyes.

He pulled out a knife, “Like a cornered tiger. Anyway...somehow it didn’t, but we got to talkin’...and they suggested a parley to end things. Like gentlemen...” Dutch looked over at Pearson. Rose turned her attention to Arthur for a moment.

 “That don’t seem right, Pearson.” Rose looked over at him, “Are ya sure?”

“Yeah—“ but the look on Dutch’s face said otherwise.  

“Gentlemen?” Dutch started towards Pearson, backing him out of his tent, not seeming to damn happy about it, “Colm O’Driscoll? Have you lost your minds?”

“You’re always telling us, Dutch...do what has to be done. But don’t fight wars ain’t worth fighting.” Micah chimed in.

“Y’all can’t be serious? Look I know ain’t been ‘round for this whole ordeal between ya two, Dutch. Colm O’Driscoll is full of shit. And so are ya.” She looked over to Micah.

“Better watch that damn mouth of yours—or else I’ll put it to good use—“

Dutch bellowed between the two of them, “Enough!”

Hosea looked over at them, “They want a parley? It’s a trap.”

“THANK YA!” she yelled out, “He gets it.”

Micah looked over to him, “well of course, it’s probably a trap...but what have we got to lose finding out?”

“Get shot?” Arthur spoke up. Dutch agreeing with said statement.

“We ain’t getting shot because you and bitch mouth over here, will be protecting us.” He lightly touched Arthur’s shoulder, Rose glaring over at Micah, “it’s a trap, you shoot the lot of them...if it ain’t a trap, that slim chance—“

Dutch walked by them all, “I don’t see the point in any of this...” they all followed Dutch over to the table.

“It’s a chance we gotta take.”

Dutch sighed, “I killed Colm’s brother...long time ago, then he killed...”

_Annabelle..._

“A woman I loved dear.” He looked over to Rose, but she looked away from him.

“As you say,” Micah rested his hands on the table, “It’s a long time ago, Dutch.”

Dutch stood there, looking like he was contemplating before he threw his smoke off to the side, “Let’s go—you and me, with Arthur protecting us.“ He looked over at Rose, “You’re stayin’ here.”

She shook her head, “S’cuse me? Y’all can’t tell me what to do—“

“You’re staying here—“ he raised his voice and then lowered it, “I—I can’t lose you too—“

“Ya run that risk, every damn day...” she sighed, “I can handle m’self.”

Micah butted in, “Sorry, boss, but...gonna needs bitch mouth’s help on this one.”

“Better stop with that goddamn nickname, Micah. I’ll fucking put a bullet in ya.”

“She can go on the other side there. Just in case, Dutch.” Micah pointed out.

Dutch looked over at Micah and then to Rose, “I’ll be fine, Dutch.”

“Let’s move then—“

She followed the lot of them over to their horses and climbed up onto hers as they all left the camp grounds. Dutch was galloping up near Micah, Rose moving beside Arthur as they went along the road.

“This don’t feel right, Arthur.” She looked over at him and smiled, seeing the red fabric around his neck, “this can’t be for real. It ain’t Colm’s style.”

“Yeah, well—“ he coughed for a moment, “That’s what we’re for...” he looked over to her, seeing her neck, but decided not to ask.

“You know, I’ve been fighting Colm, for so long now...I can barely remember a time when it was different.”

“And you’re still fighting him now, make no mistake of that.” Arthur said to Dutch.

Micah chimed in, “Here he goes...Doubting Thomas, is there any plan you ain’t sour on?”

“He’s got a point, Micah. None of this feels good, or right. So back off—“

“Alright, bitch mouth. You’ve convinced me.” She growled at his statement. 

“I’m just nervous.” Arthur sighed, “we don’t need to waste anymore lives, needlessly.”

“I’m saving lives, Arthur. Between the Pinkertons and Cornwall. Can we really afford to be fighting on all these fronts and O’Driscoll’s?”

“There is wisdom in that.” Dutch looked behind at Arthur.

They continued along, before spotting a few men on some horses, “Looks like some O’Driscoll boys...” Rose motioned up to the ridge.

“Don’t like having eyes on us.” Arthur said.

“You’ll be the eyes soon enough.” Micah said as the rounded the bend, as he started again, “Maybe he’s right, Dutch. Maybe I have pushed too hard. Got us into situations that...could have been safer. I just...I see all those mouths we got to feed, and I—I dream too big. Caring too much, that’s my problem.”

“Caring too much? There’s no such thing.”

Rose rolled her eyes, “Ain’t no such thing, Dutch. When that’s the biggest pile of shit I’ve heard come out mouth, Micah. Carin’ too much? Jesus Christ—“

“Calm down, Bitch Mouth. Now, I need ya to head up the right there. Think ya can do that?”

She galloped past the lot of them, “Go fuck yourself, Micah.”

“Meet us back at the fork in the road. We’ll be waitin’ when it’s all over—“

She galloped over to a ridge, looking down at the lot of them, Arthur just set up across the ways. Hosea had given Rose a rifle before they left. She leaned down watching them walk up to meet Colm. She laid there on the ground, looking through the scope. Felt like they were there for a while, but she didn’t feel right. Nothing felt right...it wasn’t until she looked away from the scope to see that, Arthur wasn’t there no more.

“Oh god—“ she went to move, when something hit her in the back of the head, causing her to black out. She didn’t know how long she was out for. But the back of her head was killing her. She strained to look, hearing some voices and wondering where Arthur was. She was scared. Her breathing light as she tried to move around. She rolled around, finally seeing Arthur, tied up a few feet away, “A—arthur—“ her voice was barely a whisper. He stood up and tried to make a run for it, before getting a bullet in the back, “No—“ she yelled out.  

“Well look who’s up—ain’t you a fine thing?”

“Fuck—you—“ she gritted through her teeth, finding it hard to stay awake. 

“What Colm want with the pretty one?” he looked down at her.

“Ah, who fuckin’ knows. Probably gonna fuck ‘round with her.” she groaned as one of them came over and picked her up, throwing her onto the back of the horse. Feeling the air get knocked out of her, “I know, I would...” she closed her eyes, trying to stay awake, though that wasn’t going to happen.

“Arthur—“ she closed her eyes once again as she drifted off.

The feeling of cold water splashed against her face, jolting her awake. Her eyes shot open but all she could see was darkness. Something was covering her head. Her wrists were tied up, lifting her arms above her head. There was a pain straining in her joints from it, ‘cause Lord knows how long she’d been there for. Her feet were bounded up as well as she tried to move her legs forward, but couldn’t. There was no moving for her. The bag was pulled off her head as she looked seeing Colm.

He looked down at her body, she had nothing but a blouse on...someone had removed her pants...she was grateful her undergarments were still around her crotch, “It’s true. Still beautiful as ever, Rose—“ he mocked, looking down at her.

“Fuck you.” She breathed out, watching as he bent down and grabbed tightly onto her face.

“Always loved that mouth on ya. Made for some real good times.” He laughed and looked down to her neck, seeing some bruising. A wide smile played on his lips, “Who did that? Was it Dutch?”

 She closed her eyes and tried to move her head away from his grip.

“Brave boy. Didn’t think he’d do that to a lady. But then again, always had a way with ‘em. Ain’t that right? I’m sure you’d know.” He ran his tongue along the side of her face.

“What you want, Colm?” she looked at he stood up, walking around the small area.

“Look, I know you’re feeling bitter about Agatha. But how ‘bout you come with me. Leave these fools behind?” he grinned down at her, “It’ll be like ol’ times. Well, before I shot Agatha. So maybe not the same—“  

“Ya fucking prick—“ her eyes shook as she looked at him.

“Told your pal all the wonderful things I’m gonna do to ya...” He kicked her straight in the stomach, swift and hard. Her scream echoed in the small space and for a moment she couldn’t breathe, “Oh no—“ he grabbed onto another bucket filled with water and threw it on her. “Can’t die on me now, Rose. Gonna have some fun together—“ His foot hit hard again, this time against her back.

Tears streamed down her face, feeling the god awful pain shake through her. There was some relief when someone came down looking for him. Colm came down to her, “M’dear, I need to go and deal with some things. But when I get back. I’d love that you spread them pretty legs for me.” He pulled away, cackling as he walked out the door. Her breathing felt limited as she looked around, where was she? Small room. Door across the way, meaning she must be in a cabin, one level. Wasn’t much lighting in the building...but she couldn’t move and the strain on her arms made her lose feeling in them. She felt like throwing up, wondering if maybe, this is how she goes. This was it. She closed her eyes, letting exhaustion overcome her.

However much time passed, her eyes opened as she heard a noise. Wondering if Colm was already  coming back for her, “Get—“ the door opened slowly, “The fuck—away from me—“ she cried out.

“Rose—“

“Arthur?” she whispered and lifted her head up, “Are ya real?”

He was in just as bad of shape as she was, “We need to get out—“ he started cutting the ropes around her wrists, her arms falling down hard. He went behind and cut the rope from her feet.

“No—“ she breathed out, “go—leave me—“

“We leave—together.”

She nodded her head, “I’m—scared Arthur. So scared...” her face scrunched up as more tears slid down her dirty face.

“Come—on—“ he helped move her. Though her limbs were providing very little function, “Stay with me...”

“I’m so—tired—“ she leaned against him, getting little feeling back into her limbs, “I’m gonna die—“

Arthur held her close, as they moved slowly through. Trying not to be seen by any of the O’Driscolls guarding the place, “No you ain’t—“ he coughed, “too—damn stubborn—for that.”

She smiled through the tears, “I don’t know—where our things--are...”

“There’s some—horses...” he rested Rose against the side of the building as he peeked out, seeing what they were dealing with, “Stay here—“

“Couldn’t leave if I wanted too—“ she coughed, feeling more pain rack her body. He came back and helped her over to one of the horses.

“Go---I’ll go and—get our things—“

“No—“ she shook her head, cupping his face, “It ain’t—worth it. Come with me. Please I don’t wanna leave ya—“ she was shaking and badly injured. She was helpless, her strong self, well that part of her had left for now.

“Go—I promise—I ain’t gonna be far behind...”

“I don’t wanna—go—“ she watched his eyes, afraid, “I love you—I don’t wanna lose ya—“

He pressed his lips against hers deeply, “ You—won’t—“ he helped her climb up onto the horse and smacked it, as it galloped away before he went in search of their things.

Rose held tightly onto the reins, the horse galloping as fast as it could, through the valley. She needed to stay awake, or god knows where she’d end up. But she was afraid for Arthur. He didn’t look all that well. Her head bobbed back and forth, trying to keep her eyes on the road. Tears streaming down her face, “Come back, Arthur Morgan—“ her body fell forward as the horse kept on going as she tried pushing herself up. She wasn’t sure she’d even make it back to camp at this point. But out of some miracle...she did.

The camp fire seemed so close now as she made her way, the horse stopping outside as she fell off. Her hands dug into the ground as she tried crawling towards them, her muscles screaming at her to rest. She made one last attempt at yelling, with everything she had, “DUTCH!” she screamed out and fell onto the ground. It felt like she waited a long time, but he came over and bent down beside her.

“M’dear—“ he tried to lift her up, “Where’s Arthur?”

“He—he said—“ her body shook from both the cold and pain, “he’d be—not far behind—“ she looked over to Dutch, “Goddamn—t-trap—“

He looked down seeing the lack of clothing, feeling anger, “Miss Grimshaw! I need help—Reverend Swanson—“ Dutch helped her up, taking her over to her cot, “M’dear—“

“Trap wasn’t—even—for ya—“ she closed her eyes, her breathing hard, “He wanted us...” she closed her eyes.

“Rose—you’re safe—“

She looked over at him, watching him. Everything had let up to that moment and she knew the answer but why it mattered to her at that moment...she didn’t know, “Do ya love me?”

“You know I do.”

Her eyes shook as she looked at him, “What if he don’t come—back?” She grabbed tightly onto his hand, as she sat down. He wrapped a blanket around her, trying to get her warm, “I shouldn’t have left him—“

“You still have me.” His hand cupped the side of her face. Her eyes closed slowly and leaned into his hand. Feeling the warmth there, was she losing her mind too?

“You’re right...” she felt like she was gonna faint, “ya’d never stop, would ya—“ she reached her hand out and lightly grazed her fingers along his stubbly chin.

His eyes closed at the contact, “no—“ he whispered.

“Thank ya—“ she fell over to the side, Dutch moved quickly and held onto her.

“Reverend!” he yelled out, looking down at her, “Don’t you die on me—“

She chuckled, Lord she felt weak, “Too damn-- stubborn—“  

Reverend Swanson made his way over to her, she heard some yelling from the others and heard Arthur’s name and felt relieved. Arthur had made it back. Reverend helped her lay down, covering her with the blankets.

“You okay, Ms. Reeds?”

Her eyes felt heavy as she looked up at him, “I—I don’t know, Reverend.” She lifted up her hand, “I want to confide in ya...’bout something.”

He moved closer to her and grabbed onto her hand. She could smell the whiskey on him and it’s the reason why she was telling him, hopefully he won’t remember. “What is it?”

“I’m scared, Reverend...I’m so scared.” He looked down at her with his drunken eyes, “There’s something—wrong with me—“ her breathing was light, “And—the doc—he don’t even know what it is—“

“Are ya—are ya sure you’re sick? I know right now, you’re not good but—“

She laughed softly, “When ya know something’s wrong—Reverend. Ya just know...” He squeezed her hand lightly for some reassurance.

“I know, I ain’t much for words but—I think you’ll be okay, Ms.Reeds.” She looked up at him, “Get some rest...you’ll be needin’ it.”

“Thank ya—“ she coughed and felt pain throughout her body, causing some tears to roll down, “Keep this to yourself, Reverend.”

He nodded in acknowledgement and pulled away from her bed, leaving her in the silence. She felt cold. So goddamn cold...

It took a few weeks, of her lying in bed and with Karen helping her out, helping her eat. Her strength came back, though most of the bruising was still around her stomach. Everything was healing, just wasn’t healing fast enough. Rose stood up from her bed and got dressed back into her clothing. Guess Arthur gotten their things back...foolish man. But she was happy he was feeling better.

She walked over to Dutch’s tent, seeing him sat down and reading a book. She had time to think in that bed of hers. Lots of time. So she had to ask, “Dutch—“

He looked up from his book and smiled, “Rose—Glad to see you’re up and better.”

She smiled, “Yeah. Much better.” And walked over to him, looking down at his eyes, “I wanted to know—“

“About what, dear?”

“Were ya goin’ to come for me and Arthur?”

He looked up at her, searching for words.”Of course, m’dear. Think I’d leave you there?”

She chuckled for a moment, “Oh, I see...so is that why didn’t come for us?”

“Rose—that ain’t—“ he placed the book down.

 “Well—I guess, I ain’t  _everything_  to ya.” She went to turn around and leave when he grabbed onto her wrist.

“Rose—“

“Let go of me. Let go right now, Dutch.” He stood up, watching her eyes, “I can see ya, Dutch. There ain’t no hidin’ no more.”

“Wait—Rose...” He tried to pull her close, “Listen—“

“I don’t wanna, Dutch. Ya need to leave me alone for a while.” Her eyes were filled with anger, “Think ya can do that for me?”

He didn’t want to argue, so he loosened his grip, “Fine, Rose. Have it your way—“

“Oh, Dutch.” She sighed looking at him, “It ain’t never been my way.” Her hand pressed lightly on his chest as she leaned in and whispered against his ear, her voice filled with tension, “It’s always been yours.” She pulled herself away and walked over to where Arthur was sitting.

Arthur looked up at her, “You comin’?”

She looked at him sitting, “Uh—are supposed to be goin’ somewhere?”

He stood up as she followed him over to the horses, “Bill, Sean and Micah are in town. Something ‘bout a meetin’ with the Grays?”

“Sure, I’ll go.” She smiled softly and climbed up onto her horse and trotted away along the path out of the camp.

“Dutch givin’ ya a hard time?”

She shook her head, “I’d rather not talk ‘bout him.” Her grip was tight on the reins, “I was ‘fraid, ya know...wasn’t sure you’d come back.”

“I told you I would.” He looked over at her, the red bandana still around his neck, “How are you feelin’?”

“I get aches, sometimes. Bruising still there...I ain’t healing well.” She laughed softly, “think I’m damaged for good.”

“Naw, you ain’t.” She looked over at him, as he coughed. Though that cough wasn’t starting to sound all that well.

“Ya alright, Arthur? That cough, don’t sound good.”

“I’m fine.” He smiled. He looked fine, so perhaps it was nothing. They went along the fields and towards Rhodes, “What you said—back at the cabins—“

“What ‘bout it?” she felt her heart pounding hard in her chest. Now she felt like an idiot. Stupid emotions, shouldn’t have opened her goddamn mouth. They made their way into town, she could see Bill and them, a few buildings over as they got off their horses. She stood there looking at Arthur, wondering if he was gonna say anything else on the matter of what she had said. But he looked down at her, still saying nothing. So she said something, “Look, Arthur...let’s talk about this later.”

“Okay.” He ran the pad of his thumb along her bottom lip as Bill yelled out, seeing the two of them.

“Y’all quit that shit. We got work to do—“

They walked over to the lot of them, “See ya brought Bitch mouth with ya.”

She shook her head, “Always a pleasure, Micah. What are we doin’ here?”

They all started to walk through the street down to the middle of town. Micah walking head of the lot of them, “We’re meeting a couple of the Grays over at the Saloon. They spoke to Bill about a job...needing security.”

Rose looked over to Arthur as he spoke, “After the farce of stealing the horses for them, why we doing this?”

“Cause we need to stay in with them...and they’re paying.”

Rose spoke up, “And what kinda security do they want?”

“We’re about to find out. Come on—“

“This seem legit to you, Bill?” Arthur looked over to him.

“Sure.”

“Well ain’t that a fine answer, Bill. Is none of this weird to you fellers?”

“Dutch said we was to keep on dealing with them until we find this gold.”

“Can we trust them?” Sean asked.

“Can we trust anyone?” Arthur countered.

Rose looked around her as they walked down the street, she could see men on either side of them. Her hand went down to her pistol, keeping it close, “This don’t feel right, Micah.”

“Bet nothin’ feels right with ya.”

“They said—“ Bill started up, “there was some big misunderstanding about them horses.”

“And...what about burning their fields?” Sean asked.

“They don’t know we had anything to do with that...” Bill looked to Sean.

She had to keep her wits, there was nothing else she could do, “We’ve been destroying both sides. Doin’ things for the both of ‘em. How do ya know, they haven’t caught on?”

“ ‘Cause they haven’t —they think it was the Braithwaites.“ Micah looked back at her.

Rose looked around, some of the men looking back at the lot of them, “Ya sure ‘bout that, Micah?”

“We’re stuck in the middle of some ancient fued, but instead of playing both sides, we’re being used by both of them.” Arthur groaned and shook his head.

They continued down the road, only to see that barely anyone was in town. “Hold up—“ Arthur said as they all stopped, “This don’t feel right.”

“This don’t feel right?” Sean turned to face the lot of them, “I coulda told ya—“ his words were cut off as a bullet flew into his skull.

Rose covered her mouth, as Arthur grabbed onto her and pulled her down behind cover, “Oh lord—“ her breathing was fast, “Sean—“

“Come on—Rose—keep it together--“

“Goddamn it—“ she hissed through her teeth and came out from cover, shooting off her gun a few times. 

Arthur shook his head, pulling out his rifle, “Oh, Sean...you idiots!”

“Is he dead?” Bill asked.

She came up from cover and shot a few of them down, “Look at him!” she yelled out, “Fuck—“

“Of course he’s dead!” Arthur wasn’t overly happy about it either, “How could you not think this was a trap?”

“You sure you wanna talk about this now, Morgan?” Micah yelled out.

“Is there a way out?”

Rose reloaded her gun, and came up shooting a few times.

“Not right now, they got us penned in good.” Arthur came out from cover, shooting off both his pistols in each hand.

“I’ll kill this whole town if I have too.”

“Shut ya damn trap, Micah.” Rose ran out from cover, to somewhere else. There were a few men hiding in the gun store. Micah and Arthur ran over to there, killing the lot that were hiding in there. Rose and Bill stayed out, shooting their way through as most of the men turned their focus at the gunsmiths. She went to move out of cover, when someone grabbed onto her and dragged her into the sheriff’s office. She just wasn’t having any luck no more these days.  

“See what y’all have done?”

She looked up at the man, “Fuck ya Sheriff. We ain’t done nothin’.” His hand made hard contact with her face. The sound of Micah’s voice echoed outside of the building.

“Sheriff Gray. You need to get a hold on this town, it’s going to hell!”

The sheriff grabbed onto her and moved her over to the door, his gun pressing hard into her neck, “Who do you think you are! A bunch of two-bit thugs from God knows where? You’re so dumb to think we don’t know what you been doing.”

“Come out Sheriff. It’s over.” Micah yelled out.

“We put down far worse than you—A hundred times over. This is the Gray’s Town. Always has been, always will be!“

“Only Grays I see left around here ...is you!”

“You want us to come out? We’ll come out!” The door opened as he dragged Rose out, his pistol hard against her neck.

“Oh Rose—“ Arthur groaned.

“Guns on the ground now—both of ya--“

“Don’t do it!” Rose yelled out.

“You know we can’t do that.” Arthur said, looking at Rose. “You put the gun down, Sheriff!”

“I’ll blow her brains out! You wanna join your little friend there, do ya?” He whispered against her ear, causing her to squirm, the barrel of the gun digging deeper.

“Either way—“ Micah looked at them, “You’re a dead man. Morgan?”

They both pulled out their pistols and shot at everyone on the porch. The feeling of the gun left Rose’s neck as the sheriff fell down dead behind her. She looked at the lot of them, “Ain’t so I glad, y’all know how to shoot proper...” she came down from the porch as Arthur walked over to Sean.

“He was a good kid.”

Rose sighed. She didn’t know Sean very well but...he wasn’t all that bad.

Bill finally chimed in, “Well, how the hell was I to know?”

“Let me see...”Arthur turned to look at him and stood up as he raised his voice, “they set us up once before...they didn’t like us. We destroyed their farm. Should I go on?” man was his pissed.

“Go easy on him, Morgan.” Micah walked over to him, “He was looking for a lead, same as you. Same as Hosea. The only time you complain is when things don’t work out...Except when it’s your goddamn fault—“

Rose walked over between the two of them, her hand on Arthur’s chest, “That’s ‘nough! For fucks sakes—“

He went to move forward, his eyes glaring at Micah, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t give a damn about nobody but yourself.” He bent down and picked up Sean from the ground.

“Don’t you act so high and mighty. Been riding with ya for what, six months now? All you done is complain.”

Rose shook her head, “Just ‘bout done with the lot of ya—“ she looked over at Sean’s body on Arthur’s shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment, before she went to go find her horse, leaving the three of them to bitch amongst themselves. Her and Arthur rode back together, though they didn’t say much. They had planned to talk the minute they got back to camp but, something else was happening, something not good.

Rose climbed down from her horse and made her way over to Dutch’s tent, where everyone was stood. Dutch hurried over seeing her and Arthur, “Have you seen the boy, Jack?”

Rose shook her head no. Arthur answering the same, “what’s going on—“

Abigail came out, angry looking at the three of them, “where’s my goddamn son? Where is he? Where’s my son? They took him, didn’t they? They took my son!”

“Who—“ Arthur went to ask when Hosea came over.

“We think the Braithwaite woman took him. That Kieran saw a couple of fellers...sound like Braithwaite boys.”

Rose looked over to Hosea and then Dutch, but didn’t say anything as she went to turn away from the lot of them. Abigail grabbed onto her arm stopping her.

“Please, please-- stay here with me.”  

Rose seemed taken aback at the request. She looked between Dutch and them, “I can help. I can help get Jack—“

“I need your help here.”

 Rose nodded her head, “Of course, Abigail.” She smiled softly.

“Alright—“ Dutch looked down to Rose, “You stay here with Micah and Kieran. Make sure no one comes here.”

“Ya know I will.” She nodded her head.

Dutch and the others headed out towards the Braithwaite Manor, leaving the girls with Micah, Kieran and Reverend Swanson. However it was Micah that Rose was worried about.

Rose sat with Abigail for the longest time, though, mostly Rose sat and Abigail paced around. Which was understandable considering the situation, but it’s not like Rose was much help being stuck at the camp. After much time, she finally convinced Abigail to go and lay down. Though she was sure, she wasn’t going to sleep or even rest for that matter.

Rose walked over to the big tree near the lake and leaned against it, as she stared out and went to light up her smoke, when she saw a light out of the corner of her eye, “Micah.” She took the light and inhaled some of her smoke, “What you want?”

There was much regret in that question as he stood in front of her, looking at her. His eyes clouded in shadow, “Ain’t no one here now—“

She went to move forward when his gun pressed hard against her neck. A dark grin playing along his lips, “Don’t do this, Micah—“

He moved closer to her, pressing her body into the tree, “I warned you...” he whispered, his eyes running along her features, “Just you and me now—“ the gun against her neck, caused a small pain in her, “unbuckle, bitch mouth—or else I’ll blow your pretty head off—“

She chuckled for a moment, “And how would ya explain that one to Dutch?”

“Don’t matter—cause I know you don’t wanna die...” he smirked, “Now...unbuckle—“

“I’m gonna kill ya—Micah Bell—“ she laughed softly, “when ya least expect it.”

“I’d like to see you try.” He motioned down at her pants, “Now—“ Her hands slowly moved down as she unbuckled her pants and unbuttoned them. Micah grinned as he turned her around and shoved her against the tree. The bark dug into her face, causing a few cuts. The coolness of the air hit her backside as he pulled down her pants, his gun against her neck again.

“Damn—“ he whispered, hearing the buckle from his belt and the zipper from his pants going down, “Don’t make a sound—or  _boom_.“ her nails dug into the bark of the tree, feeling the invasion of him pushing inside of her, “It’ll be over soon enough.”  He grunted against her ear.

It wasn’t soon enough.

Rose rested her head against the bark for quite some time after Micah left her to be. There were no tears from her, when she thought there would be. But all she felt was anger. It had been a few hours since the boys left. Perhaps they were on their way back...hopefully with Jack. She pulled away from the tree and walked through the camp over to her horse as she galloped out of the camp, as quick as she could.

The boys were on their way back. But she didn’t see if they had Jack or not as she wasn’t paying much attention, galloping past them. She heard Dutch call out her name but didn’t bother to answer him. She bent down, her hands gripped tightly onto her reins, feeling the anger and sadness flood her. The silence she kept when he had her against that tree, erupted as she screamed, her heart pounding hard in her chest as she continued along the road. Arthur’s gravelly voice sounded in her ears as she heard him yelling at her to stop. Had it been Dutch...she wouldn’t have bothered to stop.  

“Whoa –girl—“ She pulled hard on the reins, Lily trotting down to a stop. She sat there on her horse, wiping away the wet from her eyes. The hooves hit hard against the ground as he neared her. She climbed down from her horse and turned as he stopped a few feet away from her.

He climbed down from his horse and approached her slowly, “Rose—“

She walked over to him slowly, looking up at him. He could see the cuts on her face, some blood smeared on her cheek, “Micah he---he forced---“  her face scrunched up in disgust. Arthur grabbed onto her quickly and pulled her tight against his chest, his arms wrapping around her.

“Gonna kill that son of a bitch—“ he gritted through his teeth.

“Just hold me...” she whispered, resting her head against his chest, “Anything—to make the feel of him go way.”

Arthur was angry and she could feel that. She pulled away from his chest and looked up at him, her eyes were red, but, no tears had fallen down her face. He cupped her face and pressed his lips against her forehead, “Come on—we need to get back.”

She nodded her head, “Course. Did ya—find Jack?”

They both grabbed onto the reins of their horses and started leading them back. She wasn’t in a rush to get home.

“That Braithwaite woman gave him to Angelo Bronte...”

She looked over to Arthur, “I know that man.”

“That’ll be helpful.”

“I can only hope. Haven’t seen the man since I was 20...Really hoping he don’t remember me.”

Arthur looked over at her, “Why, ya steal his shit too?”

“Sometimes, one is in need of more money than they make.”

“Fair enough.” He sighed, “You gonna be okay?”

“I’m gonna kill him, Arthur. Maybe not today or tomorrow...but I will.” He reached over and grabbed onto her hand, as she stopped walking.

“I need to say this—it won’t be fair if I don’t.” She watched him, both her hands were now in his, “Ain’t no good gonna come outta lovin’ me.”

She hummed for a moment, “Ya done?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” She smiled and cupped his face, “You’re an idiot.” He looked so lost at her comment, “There ain’t nothing that’s gonna change how I feel ‘bout ya.”  

He leaned into her warmth, “Rose...“

“Ya know where to find me when you’ve figured things out, Arthur.” She pulled his face down and pressed her lips softly against his. Before resting her forehead against his, “Let’s go.”

They went back to camp together, Rose went to bed, exhausted from everything with Arthur staying by her side that night. When she woke, Dutch and a few others were sat around the table as she walked over. Hosea turned to look at John, “It’s gonna work out, John. It’s gonna work out, listen to Dutch.”

“I don’t expect you to understand this...but I have never been more proud of you than I am right now, brother. You’re doing the right thing.”

Rose sat down at the table and lit up a smoke, feeling much discomfort between her legs.  

“If I don’t get the boy back safe...I’m...she’ll...she’ll kill us all.” John looked at everyone around the table.

“I know, but looking at this logically, that boy is fine. They took him to scare us. Nobody takes a boy to harm him.”

“He’s right John.”

Rose stood up and placed her hand on John’s shoulder, “He’ll be okay.” She looked to Dutch, “I know Angelo Bronte. Perhaps I’d be of some use getting Jack back.”

Dutch didn’t seem all that interested in that fact, but more or less why she ran off from camp last night. He nodded his head, “How do you know him?”

“It ain’t like that, so don’t even. He hires criminals. That’s what I am. I needed the money. But I know him Dutch...” John looked over at Rose, “Mind ya, I ain’t twenty no more. So lord knows if he’ll remember me. Hoping not...” she muttered to herself.

“Hey, Dutch—We got a problem.”

“Not a problem...” Rose turned her head, seeing Agent Milton and Ross walk over to them, “visitors. A solution. Good Day fine people. Mr. Van Der Linde, Mr. Mathews, I presume. And who are you?” he looked over to John.

“Rip Van Winkle.”

“Huh...Agent Milton, Pinkerton Detective Agency.” Rose walked over past Arthur, “Ah, Ms. Reeds...nice to see you again.”

Dutch still wasn’t looking at them, “And to what do we owe the pleasure, Agent Moron?”

Milton looked at the lot of them, “I don’t know if you’re aware but this—this is a civilized land now. We didn’t kill all them savages only to allow the likes of you to act like human dignity and basic decency was outmoded or not yet invented. This thing—“ He motioned to all of them, “It’s done.”

“This place...” Dutch stood up to look at Milton, “ain’t no such thing as civilized. It’s man so in love with greed...He has forgotten himself and found only appetites.”

Rose turned to face Dutch, “Don’t—“ she whispered.

“And as a consequence that lets you take what you please, kill whom you please and hang the rest of us? Who made you the messiah to these lost souls you’ve led so horribly astray?”

“I’m nothing but a seeker, Mr. Milton.”

“You ain’t much of anything more than a killer, Mr. Van Der Linde. But I came to make a deal.  It’s time—“ Milton looked at the lot of them, “You come with me...and I give the rest of ya three days to run off, disappear and go live like human beings someplace else.”

Rose sighed, “Killin’ ain’t never gonna stop, Mr.Milton...” and turned to face him, “Even long after we’re gone. Killin’ ain’t gonna stop. No matter what ya do.”

Milton smirked at her comment as Dutch started to speak, “You came for me? Risked life and limb in this den of lowlifes and murderers so that they might live and love? Ain’t that fine.” Everyone chuckled at the comment.

“I don’t wanna kill all these folks, Dutch. Just you.”

Dutch raised his hands, “In that case...It’d be my honor...to join you. Excuse me friends...I have an appointment to keep with—“ Rose and the lot of them slowly pulled out their guns.

“I think your new friend should leave now, Dutch.” Ms. Grimshaw chimed in.

“You’re all making a big mistake, all of you.”

“Yeah...dreadful. We have got something , something to live and die for. How awful for us, Mr.Milton. Stop following us. We’ll be gone soon.”

“I’m afraid I can’t...and when I return I’ll be with fifty men. All of you will die. Run away from this place, you fools.”

“Come on-“ Lenny went to grab onto Milton’s arm.

“Get your damn hands off of me, boy.” Milton and Ross walked away from the lot of them.

Rose sighed and looked over to Dutch, “Well shit. What ya want to do?”

“We get outta here and quick. Any ideas?”

Rose shook her head, but Arthur had one, “I know a big old house, hidden in the swamps outside of Saint Denis. I’m sure they’ll find us eventually, but it should buy us a few days.”

“A few days is all we need.” He placed his hand on Arthur’s shoulder.

She felt like she’s heard that all before.

“It’s a spot out by Shady Belle. Lenny and I got into that dispute with the previous occupiers. Place is well hidden.”

“Arthur, John, Rose—Ride out there. Make sure no one else had moved in. Lenny, follow those fools outta here and make sure they leave. John...we’ll get Jack back soon enough. Rest of ya get packin’!”

Rose shook her head and followed John and Arthur over to the horses, “This is getting worse by the minute...”

“This is crazy...” They climbed up onto their horses and trotted out to the road, before galloping along, “We should be going for, Jack.”

“We will, but we have to move everyone first, before that bastard Milton comes back with an army. We just need to be smart about this.”

“Smart. Are you jokin’? We made too much noise once again. We drew ‘em right to us.”

“He’s got a point, Arthur. Doesn’t matter where we go...They’re always there. And in the past few weeks...”

“How many people have we killed in the last few weeks?” John asked, looking over at Rose.

“Far too many...” Arthur sighed as he answered.

“It’s Dutch playing his games. Hosea too.”

Rose shook her head, “Naw John. Hosea is the only one with a straight head on. He’s the good side of whatever shit seems to happen. It’s Dutch I’m worried about.” And it was true. There was always a plan, always more of something and now it felt like things were getting much worse, not better.

John laughed, “Dutch’ll fix it. Dutch’ll come up with a big plan. Rght now, every plan gets us into worse trouble. We’re getting further from where we’re meant to be going.”

“I ain’t arguing with, John. But—“

“But you can’t put all this on Dutch. You’re worked up and rightly so. Just don’t get too far into your head with all this or you’ll never get out...” they continued along the road, “We can’t change what’s done, we can only move on.”

Rose looked over to Arthur for a moment, “But to what?”

He sighed, “I don’t know. Come on—“ they were almost there, “Let’s finish this quick.”

John Marston seemed to have a smart head on those shoulders of his and chances are she could trust him...

Should things go to hell...


	5. Saint Denis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh Sean...he was like an annoying little brother to me...
> 
> How are we gettin' so bad at this? That we keep losin' people...Dutch doesn't seem like he really listens anymore, to rhyme or reason... 
> 
> And Rose...well she's another story.
> 
> One I need to figure out."

They cleaned up the house of the “pests” that had resided there in Shady Belle. Rose and Arthur finished cleaning up the bodies and sent John out to bring in the caravan and everyone else. He disappeared off into the distance, leaving Arthur and Rose alone. She walked around the house, it was mostly run down, broken windows with a few beds lying around, but nothing much. She walked upstairs, peeking into a few of the rooms, “Oh my—“

Arthur came up behind her, “What?“

She gestured to lack of glass on the windows, “Needless to say, ain’t no privacy in this room.” It was a small room, but there was a bed at the end of it at least, “Bet ya Ms. Grimshaw shoves ya in here—“

“I don’t need much space—“

“What ‘bout that big ego of yours? Surely it can’t fit in here—“

“Wanna bet?” he smirked backing her up into the room.

“Arthur Morgan, are you propositioning me?” He hummed deep in his throat, running his hands along her sides, “Cause I am a lady of high class--”

“Would you shut up—“ She laughed as he lightly pushed towards the bed as his foot hit the door, closing it behind them.

It felt like an hour or so, before the others had arrived, Rose headed down as they came in with the wagons. Arthur following shortly after.  Rose passed by Dutch and went over to her horse and climbed up before he came over to her, “And where, m’dear do you think you’re going?” he looked up at her.

“Got some business to attend to in Saint Denis.” She hadn’t told him or Arthur for that matter but... She had gone to the post office recently and found that she had received a letter from Angelo Bronte. He was seeking her assistance once again in some...dealings. Now that she was closer, it was going to be a helluva a lot easier to see him. And if he had Jack...well that was a chance she was going to take, whether Dutch liked it or not. 

“Well then—why don’t you wait for me and Arthur? We’re heading there ourselves shortly.” She looked over to Arthur and then back at Dutch.

“I’ll meet y’all there, Dutch. If ya don’t mind. Got some business to attend too.” She smiled for a moment, “thought ya was supposed to be givin’ me some space?”

He closed his eyes for a second and pulled away from her horse and left her to ride out towards Saint Denis on her own. It did bother her that Bronte remembered her, after the job she did...that was it. Terminated her own employment with him, but that was something he didn’t fancy all too much. The fact that he wanted to see her again, well...didn’t sit that well with her. Even if he needed some help with a job...well, getting Jack back was the most important thing.

Lily’s hooves hit hard against the dirt road as she made her way towards Saint Denis. She was starting to wonder if she should have told Dutch the truth. That’s probably why they were heading there too, to find Mr.Bronte.  She reached Saint Denis and crossed the bridge into the city. With Dutch and Arthur not that far behind her, but she didn’t know that. For the better part of her day, Rose went over to the bar, the fancy one as she liked to call it and sat at the bar having a shot of whiskey. She looked down at the letter in her hand.

“You know an Angelo Bronte?” She needed some leverage, she knew where he was living but...should Dutch come nosing around...

The Bartender looked over at her, cleaning down the glass he had, “Best not be asking ‘bout that, Miss.”

“Why? I’m lookin’ for him—“

“And I’m tellin’ ya—don’t.”

“Alright, ya win—“ She lifted her hands up in defeat, the letter in hand. She felt the paper get tugged out from her, “S’cuse me—“ she turned seeing Dutch, the letter within his grasps. Now she’d have to start talking real quick. His eyes ran over the letter, before he walked over to the bar and stood beside her.

“Two whiskeys--“

She wanted to say something but, felt like it wouldn’t do her any good at this point. The bartender poured two and handed them over, before Dutch passed one to Rose. He looked down at his drink, “I’m only gonna ask this once.”

“What, Dutch?”

“Are you working with him?”

She shook her head, “No. Ya think I’d be in cahoots with him taking Jack? Jesus, Dutch...That what ya think of me?” He waved the letter around and as she tried to grab it from him, “I went to the post office, ya read the fuckin’ thing. He wants help with somethin’. I came here to try and negotiate for Jack.”

He shot back his drink and turned to look at her, “Then why not tell us?”

“Cause not everything has to be ‘bout ya knowin’ shit, Dutch.” She shot back her drink as well and looked at him, “I ain’t a monster. Fact that you’re doubtin’ me...” She pulled the letter from his hand and walked out the doors of the Saloon, “What the fuck, Dutch—“ she whispered to herself. Though she didn’t go anywhere and stayed outside of the Saloon. Dutch did come out after sometime and walked over to Rose, leaning against the side of the building.

He walked over and leaned against the wall too and sighed, “Does that mean you know where he is?”

“No. He didn’t disclose that information to me.” Well that was a lie, “Guess I had to do the hard work. Finding the fucker.” She took out a smoke and lit it up, “No one wants to tell me, people ‘round here don’t seem to keen on givin’ that information.”

Dutch smirked, “Well then, aren’t I glad I know?”

Not impressed, “Ya know? Givin’ me a hard time and ya fuckin’ know.” She inhaled most of her smoke, “Where we goin’ then?”

“Oh don’t want me leaving you alone no more?”

She glared at him, “Don’t pull that shit, Dutch. Where are we goin’?”

“We’re waiting on Arthur, m’dear.” So they waited. Arthur finally came and was about to open the doors to the Saloon, when Dutch found it fun to point a gun at him and in a different voice said, “Stick ‘em up, cowboy.” Arthur moved and put his hands up, only to have Dutch laugh.

“Yeah real funny, Dutch.” Arthur turned around to face the both of them.

“Yeah, I’m burstin’ with laughter over that. Can we go now?” She looked between the two of them.

“I thought it was funny.” He walked towards Arthur, placing his hand on his shoulder, “So, here we are in a strange land of Papists and rapists. America’s very own Gomorrah.”

“Yeah, cities all look the same to me.” Arthur looked around, “So, how you been gettin’ on?”

Dutch looked over to Rose, “Well go on—might as well show him.”

“Ya ain’t the boss of me.” She pulled the letter out and handed it to Arthur anyway, “I received this, not that long ago.”

He read over the letter, “So what’s the job?”

“I wouldn’t know, ya fool.” She grabbed the letter, “Thought it would be a good way to get in though.”

Dutch looked between the two of them, “Well I have been asking around about Mr.Bronte and from what I heard this establishment is out best lead...” he pointed to the bar, “but I haven’t had any joy in there so far.”

“So, I should just give it a shot?” Arthur asked.

Rose nodded her head, “I tried already in there. Not a single damn person wantin’ to say anything. But yous a man. Might have better luck.”

“I agree...just, keep it cool.” Dutch pointed his finger at Arthur.

“You know me.”

“Good. I’ll meet you back here, anon.” Arthur turned and went through the doors, leaving Dutch and Rose outside, “Are you coming with or staying here?”

She watched his eyes, “Guess I’ll come with, no funny business Mr. Van Der Linde.”

He laughed as they walked down the street together, “wouldn’t dream of it.”

“That’s a damn lie.” She smirked. “Hope Arthur has better luck. Not a single soul in there was wanting to talk about Angelo Bronte.”

“And what exactly was it you used to do for him?” Dutch looked over to her.

“I used to steal. Somethin’ I’m quite good at. If ya haven’t noticed...” She smirked as they made their way along the streets, “It paid good money. Roughin’ up people, Angelo Bronte is not a man to be trifled with.”

Dutch nodded his head, “And yet you stole from him.”

“Goddamn it—“ she was laughing so hard, “y’all are just as bad as the women, with your gossipin’. But yeah, I did. Money was good, but...Agatha and I needed more and he had expensive shit to sell off.” She looked over to Dutch, her cheeks a bit red, “If he remembers, it ain’t gonna bode well for me.”

They sat down on a bench and watched people walk by, wagons, horses. It was nice, just being able to sit together. No fighting, no problems, just silence...It wasn’t until she stood up, that Dutch said something, “Something wrong?”

She turned to face him, “Dutch, gonna go see, if I can find Mr.Bronte.”

His lifted his hands up, “We’re waiting for Arthur—“

“I know—“ she placed her hands on his, which calmed his nerves somewhat, “Look, there are things that I need to speak ‘bout with Mr.Bronte that were in the letter, without ya breathin’ down m’neck.”

Dutch shook his head, “Like what? The potential job opportunity? Why can’t we go together?”

Her lips curved into a smile, “Cause there was a second part to that letter. And on that piece of paper, I need to speak with him ‘bout a few things... Alone.”

Dutch stood up, she hated how he towered over her. Damn her height. “And where’s the rest of it?”

“Oh!” Rose nodded her head, watching his eyes, “I threw it in the camp fire. I believe what you’re lookin’ for now, is ash.”

He bit his bottom lip and shook his head in annoyance, “Rose—“

“No—“ she cut him off, “Not everythin’ is your business, Dutch. M’past ain’t your business.”

He looked down at her, wanting to say something.

Her hands lightly grabbed onto his, time to turn on her charm. “I’m gonna pull a line from your book...So have goddamn faith in me. That’s what you’re always wantin’ from everyone.” He rested his head against hers, breathing slowly, “Do ya trust me?”

He took a moment, like he had to think about it, which didn’t bring her any comfort, “Yes.”

“Good.” She whispered and tilted her head up, brushing her lips lightly against his before she pulled away abruptly, “I’ll see ya there, Dutch.” She bit her bottom lip trying not to laugh as she briskly walked away from him.

The thing she hadn’t told Dutch or Arthur was that, she knew where Angelo Bronte was. He stated so in the letter she had received, in the second part of it that is. She’d have no problem getting there and being able to chat to him without Dutch’s ear lingering. It was a big house, with a stone wall surrounding the place. She walked over to the gates; a man stood there, his gun tight in his hand.

“I’m here to see, Angelo Bronte—“ she shoved the letter against the man’s chest and walked past him. A couple of them pointed their guns at her as she walked up the stairs and through the doors into the house. She walked into a living room with big windows, bookshelves and Angelo Bronte, who was sat on the couch with his legs stretched out.

He grinned and turned to look at her, “Mia cara.” She walked further into the room, seeing a few of his men at the ready with their guns, should the need arise.

“Mr.Bronte.” she nodded her head, “How good to see ya.”

“I’ve told you, call me Angelo.” He stood up, “Come in! 10 years has not made a difference on you, Mia cara. Where is your sister, Agatha?”

Her eyes turned downwards to the floor, “She’ dead. ‘Bout 2 years now.”

He nodded his head, “I am sorry to hear that.” 

She sat down, “I had received your letter. Ya have asked for m’services and I wanted to inquire on why that is. As it stated...” she watched his eyes. “I owe money?”

He smirked, “Ah yes. For the painting you stole.”

“Shit—“ she whispered to herself, “So ya do remember. It’s been 10 years, Angelo—“

“Mia cara, listen to me.” She sat back on the couch, her hands clasped together, “You see, as I am sure that you do not, have the money to give me for what you took...I am asking for your services. You do these things for me—“ he bent forward, to grab his drink from the table, “Consider yourself paid off.”

She couldn’t really argue with that. The others that came in not long after, Dutch, Arthur and John. Rose looked over to the three of them.

Angelo turned to his men, talking to them in Italian. Though she didn’t have a damn clue what he was saying.

Dutch finally asked, “Why do you take his son?”

Angelo looked over to him, “Excuse me?”

Dutch pointed to John, once again asking, “I said...Why do you take his son?” Angelo looked at them, watching them, “We ain’t got no problems with you, sir...nor you with us. But if you wanna start one...” Dutch started to back up, “There is gonna be a lot of folks dead in this room before it’s done.”

Rose shot up from the couch, “Dutch—“

Angelo looked mighty angry, “Do you know these men, Mia cara?”

“Y-yeah, I do. I’m with—“ there were a lot of men in that room pointing guns at them, making damn hard to speak.

Dutch looked to Angelo, “she’s with us.”

His face grimaced at that, “Well you are rude and nasty.” Rose looked between Dutch and Angelo, “You come in to my city. You barge in here before having a bath and you’re telling me how to act?”

Rose stood there, her gaze looking at anything but the men.

“You ask me to show compassion? Have I not shown you almost infinite compassion already by simply allowing you to breathe in my presence?”

Dutch raised his hands, “indeed you have.” He walked over beside Rose, “We are simple country folk, All we have is each other and you have gone and you have took his son...over some dispute with some inbred ex-slavers. It ain’t got nothing to do with anyone of us.” Dutch grabbed onto Rose’s arm and yanked her down to sit.

“You had nothing to do with destroying the liquor business?” Angelo yelled at them.

“We was innocent bystanders and that which we weren’t innocent of, well we...we most surely were ignorant of.”

“You, you, you twist words.” Rose was in agreement with that statement, “You lie shamelessly, you think you are better than everyone else.” The tension was sliced as Angelo spoke something in Italian and began to laugh. Rose felt her heart drop into her stomach. Angelo stood up from the couch and reached his hand out, “Angelo Bronte.”

“Dutch Van Der Linde.” He laughed, and pointed to over to Arthur, “Arthur Morgan.”

Angelo walked over and shook his hand, “Arthur, the pleasure is mine.” Shaking John’s hand as well. Before they all sat down , Rose stood up from the couch, letting the boys sit. She grabbed onto the drink that was offered to her and shot it back just as quick.

The laughter slowly died off as Dutch asked, “So, can my friend have his son?”

“Of course, of course.” He chuckled for a moment, “But...should I be out of pocket over a misunderstanding? Of course I know you would not want that...”

Dutch looked over at Arthur and John, “No...”

“No, no, no, so, how about this?” He looked at the lot of them, “There is a simple job that needs doing. I was going to send Mia cara here...” he gestured over to Rose, “But why not all three of you go? Do that for me and you get your son back.”

Rose looked over at Angelo, “What’s the job?”

“A couple of people have taken to grave robbing in the cemetery.”

Dutch nodded his head, “that is a fine place for it, the best.”

Angelo laughed, “I love this guy, I love you. See they’ve taken, not only to desecrating the dead, but they’ve done so without paying a tribute to the living. Thing is, they see my men, of course, they run a mile. So you three head off and you and Mr.Van Der Linde...Why, you tell me more about my manners.” His laughter echoed in the room, as Rose, Arthur and John left the house and headed outside to their horses.

They climbed up on their horses, Arthur breaking the silence, “How the hell did you get there before us?”

“It was in the second part of the letter that he wrote me. Not that I had to tell ya—“

“Goddamn, don’t ya think it would have been helpful to know?” John groaned out, “He has Jack!”

“I know that, John. Don’t ya get mad with me.” Rose shook her head, “There was some thing’s of conversation that I didn’t want Dutch to be nosy ‘bout.”

They trotted through the streets, Arthur looking over at her, “So what was it? What did Mr.Bronte want to see you for?”

“I stole a paintin’ ‘bout ten years ago. Very nice paintin’, I sold it. Got lot of cash out of it. But apparently he knew that I took it. Now he wants me to do him a few jobs and he’ll forget the whole damn thing...” she sighed, “somehow I don’t believe that though.”

“What’s with the thing he was callin’ ya? Mi—mia-mo—“

“Mia Cara. Means ‘My dear’ in Italian. That’s all he called me when I was twenty, had to eventually learn what it meant, thought he was insultin’ m’half the time.” They were almost near the graveyard, “Look, I’m sorry. Ain’t tryin’ to piss the lot of ya off...just needed m’time before y’all came bargin’ in. And now Angelo is talkin’ with Dutch and that can’t be good.”

John nodded his head, “Let’s just...do this and get Jack back.”

They stopped outside of the place and hopped down from their horses as they walked over to the gates and went through.

“Alright,” John said, “let’s see what’s going on in here.”

Rose was in the middle of them as they walked through the graveyard and headed over to a tomb that had been cracked open, “Keep it down. Don’t want ‘em to bolt on us.”

Arthur walked over, “Looks like someone beat us to it here.” He walked inside, while Rose waited outside with John.

“Can’t believe we’re going this.” John said, looking around.

“I know, but you won’t care once we get the boy back.” Arthur answered him as he walked out of the tomb.”

“That bastard better keep his word.” They continued through the tombs, walking slowly, their eyes searching around the area, “Hope Dutch is enjoying his brandy and cigars.”

Rose chuckled, “Oh John, he always does...” There was the sound of barking had been going on since they got there and it was driving her nuts, “Where the fuck is that goddamn dog...”

“I don’t know—“ Arthur snuck along the tombs, walking until they heard something, a noise of some sort.

“Hey—did you hear that?” John whispered as they moved along the building quietly and down towards another tomb, the gate opened with nothing but stuff littered inside of it.

John and Arthur walked in as Rose stayed outside and guarded, “When my time comes, Arthur...make sure they put me deep in the ground.”

“With pleasure.” Arthur and John came back out.

“Sneaky buggers...” She looked at the both of them, “this ain’t helpin’. I say we split up. Cover more ground. You and John together and I’ll go alone.”

Arthur nodded, though reluctant to agree verbally, as they went their separate ways. Rose snuck along the tomb stones. There was always something unsettling about the dead, even though she’d be there soon enough. She stopped and leaned against one of the tomb stones, feeling a dull ache in her bones, “Getting too old for this shit—“ she pulled herself away and continued onwards. It felt like being in a maze and these grave robbers were very good at not being seen.

She heard a loud noise and ran towards it, realizing it was only John and Arthur, “Goddamn it—“ she whispered, walking over to them, as they looked confused as to why no one was in there. “What are ya—“ The sound of gunshots cut off her sentence as she ran and ducked for cover, “Good job, boys! Ya found ‘em.”

“Dammit!” John gritted.

“How many you see?” Arthur asked John.

“Three, four? Hard to tell.”

Rose came out from behind cover, shooting her gun, “Well, we can’t exactly stay here—“

The men shooting back were yelling god knows what, “You should have paid Mr.Bronte.” Arthur yelled out taking a few shots. But it seemed most of the men disappeared further back. “Bastards are trying to draw us out—“ Arthur said and started making his way forward.

“Then don’t go, ya fool!” she groaned out. But followed after him anyways, though the fog was settling in pretty bad and it made it hard to see.

“Can’t see worth a damn—“

She heard Arthur yell out and headed over to him, seeing someone punching him. Rose ran at the feller and tackled him away from Arthur, “Ya son of a bitch!” her gun pressed quickly into his neck as she fired it. Arthur came over and helped her up before continuing through the cemetery.

“If it moves. Blast it!” John yelled out.

She hurried through with Arthur, John following shortly behind, “I can think of better ways to spend an evening.” Arthur said and looked over to Rose who was grinning like a fool.

“Oh really? Care to tell, Mr. Morgan?”

“Ain’t the time, Rose—“ his voice angrily rasped out, before he fired his gun, taking down someone.

“Next time Dutch can go, and I’ll have the drink.” John came over to them, “I think that’s all of them.”

“Well that was...fun...I think.” Rose smirked, looking over at Arthur as he rolled his eyes.

 John walked by the two of them, “Alright, now let’s find their stash. Gotta be round here someplace.”

“Okay, but we’ll need to be quick—“ Arthur said.

“We can’t go back to Bronte empty-handed. Let’s have a look where they first shot at us from.” They made their way back to the spot, to the huge mausoleum.

Arthur chuckled, “Robbing graverobbers...we’ve hit the big time.”

“Get lookin’—god knows if our shootin’ caused some unwanted attention...” she hurried along, looking high and low.

Arthur finally found a tomb, a candle lit in the middle of it and something on to pedestal, “I think there might be something in here.” He opened the gates and grabbed onto the pouch, “Got it—“

Rose looked at the both of them, “Come on, boys—just ‘bout done hangin’ out with the dead here—“ The sound of whistles blared loudly, “Ah fuck—“

“Shit—it’s the law. Maybe we can get out that gate—“ They all ran over to it, only to find the damn thing was lock. Rose motioned up to the gap.

“You can fit Marston—We’ll give ya a lift and Arthur and I can go back the way we came—Say yes cause we ain’t got time!”

“Fine—“ They helped John over the side of the gate. Arthur slipped the coin bag through the gate handing it to John.

“We’ll meet you back at Bronte’s—now go—“ Rose yelled at him as her and Arthur sunk down and started to sneak through the cemetery.

“I coulda given you a lift—“

“Naw, ya can’t lift m’sorry ass.” She peeked her head out around the corner, “there’s a lot of them.” They slowly made their way through, unfortunately taking a long time. The law was looking hard and good. At one point Arthur grabbed onto her and pulled in between some tombs. His body pressed hard against hers as they waited for a few of the lawmen to go on by. “Arthur—“ she whispered.

“Be quiet, Rose—“

“I know this ain’t the time but...this is turnin’ m’on—“

He looked down at her, “Ain’t the time—“ he grabbed onto her and pulled her along, sneaking through the tombs. Took some time, but they made their way back to the front gates and hurried out to their horses. They climbed up quick and galloped off through the streets back to Angelo Bronte’s place. Dutch was sitting outside with John when they returned.

“Well...” he butted out his smoke, “you took your time.” He stood up from the steps and walked over the both of them.

Rose looked around, “Where’s Mr.Bronte?”

Jack came running out towards John, “Pa!”

“Like I said, you took your time.”

John wrapped his arms tightly around Jack, “Am I glad to see you.”

“Let’s go—“ Dutch said. Rose made her way over to the gate and walked out, Dutch following shortly after, as John went ahead with Jack.

The gate shut behind them as Dutch looked over, “You know...Mr. Bronte has invited us to a garden party at the mayor’s house.” He laughed for a moment, “It’ll be much fun. He hopes to see you there Rose.”

She shook her head and climbed up on her horse, “Yeah, bettin’ he does...”As she started the other way, Dutch turned his head.

“Aren’t you comin’ back to camp?”

Rose stopped and turned to face him, “I will be later. The funny man is in town and asked to speak with me.”

“Funny man?”

“Trelawny.“ Arthur filled in the confusion.

“Slippery Bastards in town, eh?” Dutch waved his hand, “Have fun, m’dear.”

Dutch and John started on their way; Arthur looked back at Rose one more time and smiled softly at her before disappearing after the two of them. She galloped down to the Saloon and of course it was the finest of places. She hitched her horse and walked over, opening the doors and seeing Trelawny over at the bar, with a drink in his hand.

“Ah!” He bowed as she went over to him, “Lovely to see you again, m’dear.”

“Funny man...” she nodded her head.

“Call me Josiah. Come—“ he motioned her upstairs to the sitting area they had up there, “let us talk.”

“’Bout what? Don’t ya normally want Arthur or...someone that ain’t me?”

“Hush hush—“ they walked up the stairs and sat down on the plush chairs. He handed her over a drink and sat back, “Now—I’ve already informed a few others of this—heist of mine.”

“Where is it?”

“On a boat, my good woman. Expensive, lots of money. And what you need is—“

“More money...” she sighed, “Alright. I ain’t wearin’ a dress though.”

“But—what else would you wear? I’m afraid clothing is needed for this heist, m’dear.”

She sat forward, looking at him with that charming smile, “Ya wanna shove m’on a boat? Should somethin’ stupid happen—which in the short experience I’ve had with ya, could very well be the damn case. I ain’t wearin’ no damn dress. I don’t wish to drown, funny man.” She sat back and chugged back her drink, “I can wear a suit. Besides already have to wear a stupid dress, for a goddamn party at the mayor’s house. M’limit for dress wearing already exceeded, long ago.”  

“Look like one of the boys, eh?” he chuckled and had some of his drink, “By all means, m’dear. However we’re gonna have to...make a few changes—“

She looked over at him, “Like what?”

 

In the morning Trelawny took her over to the barbers. Arthur was told whenever he got up to come and meet them there. However, Rose had the special honour of going in first. She walked over and sat down on the chair. Trelawny spoke with the barber for a few moments before the barber walked over.

“You relax, miss. Be over before you know it.” Her eyes went over to Trelawny’s in the mirror. But out of faith and trust that she shouldn’t have for the man, she closed her eyes. Only hearing the sound of the scissors snipping away at her hair and after some time, “Ah, does that feel lighter?”

“Yeah—really light—“ she opened her eyes, as she shot out of the chair and looked in the mirror, “Oh god—“ her hair had been cut short...really short. It’s not like she looked awful, in a way she looked cute. But the hair that she had grown down to her breasts, was now on the floor. Her hand pressed against her head, feeling the length. Her hair had kept its curl and now it was short and curly. Her fingers pulled the sides, trying to make it look nice.

“It’s a new style, called ‘Titus’. Really looks lovely on you.” Could she really be mad at the barber? He was just only doing what he was told...

“Oh calm down. It’ll grow back.” Trelawny piped up as she turned to look at him.

“You’re dead, funny man.” She went to have at him, when Arthur came through the doors.

“What’s going on here?” Arthur looked between Rose and Trelawny.

He continued to read the paper, “Oh nothing, just another person wanting to kill me.”

“I’m gonna ring his neck—“ she went to have at him, when Arthur grabbed onto her.

“Calm down—“ he looked down at her, seeing that her long curly hair had all been lopped off, “So that’s what he did to you.”

“In my defensive, she came here willingly—“

Arthur smirked, “Wow, that’s short.” He reached his hand out, touching her hair. He could see more of her, more of her face, more of her neck...He liked it. She watched his eyes, suddenly not feeling all that upset about it. He ran his fingers down her the side of her face, the sound of Trelawny’s voice interrupting them.

“I don’t mean to get into the way of love. But we need to get a move on—“

Rose pulled away from Arthur as she went outside and waited, having a smoke while she did. Didn’t take all that long but, Arthur came out looking...really fresh and clean. The beard he had grown had disappeared off his face.

“Mr.Morgan...” she smirked and walked over to him. “Look at ya...”Trelawny came out shortly after. She turned to face him, a little edge to her voice as she spoke, “A little warnin’ next time would be nice, Josiah.”

He grinned, “Oh m’dear, you do look lovely. And wait till you do get a dress on...Skin for miles, my friend.” He patted her back as they followed him, “Let’s suit up!”

Rose wasn’t sure where Trelawny got the suits but he seemed like a resourceful man...even though she wanted to strangle him. She was given some material to wrap around her chest, to press down her breasts. She wanted to look like a man and therefore her breasts would need to be hidden. It seemed to be taking a long while, struggling with the wrap before a knock sounded at the door.

“You okay in there?”

“No, Arthur...I’m ‘bout to throw all caution to the wind and wear a goddamn dress—“ she turned her head as the door opened and Arthur slipped in. He looked over to her, her pale skin, though it was mostly bruised from her recent injuries and some old ones. She hadn’t lied about not healing properly. For a moment she felt self conscious as he walked over to her and grabbed the material from her.

“Arms up—“ He slowly wrapped the material around her chest, his eyes wandering all over her skin. She blushed and smirked, looking at him, “what you smilin’ at?”

“The handsome damn man.” She winked.

Arthur finished and tied a small knot, holding the wrap in place. She looked up at him, and ran her fingers along his shaven face. She pulled him down and kissed him deeply, feeling a shot of pleasure shoot through her, his lips felt so soft against hers and was loving every moment of it.

He pulled away after a few seconds, looking at her, his breathing a bit ragged, “Get dressed—“

“But what if I wanna get undressed?” she grinned. Arthur groaned and slowly made his way back and out of the room, “You ain’t no fun, Arthur Morgan!”

“Get goddamn dressed.”

“No fun—“ She finished dressing and placed on a hat to cover her hair. However Trelawny grabbed onto it and whipped it to the wind when she came outside.

“You look fine, m’dear. Now come—I have arranged some transportation for us.” Arthur and Rose followed him over to a carriage as they climbed in, “George. To the Grand Korrigan please.”

“Grand Korrigan, sir.”

Trelawny looked over to Arthur, “Well look at you. From toad...to prince.”

Rose smirked at the comment, though she didn’t much agree with it.

“This is a bit much, ain’t it? The coach?”

“We can’t whinny up there on horses like a bunch of countrified yokels. You and your younger brother are brash oil men with money to burn! Which reminds me...no shuffling and mumbling. Puff your chest out. Get outside yourself.”

Rose took a moment, “I’m the younger brother?”

“Correct, m’dear. You wanted to dress like man. You get to be one. So you both better be, well...not yourselves.”

Arthur shook his head, “Alright, alright...This ain’t Hamlet. So, who’s the mark?” Arthur looked up to the man driver and whispered to Trelawny, “He alright, by the way. The driver?”

“Oh yes, don’t worry. George and I go way back. It’s a man called Desmond Blythe. Made his fortune in hosiery of all things. Likes to play fast and always keeps some extra collateral in the safe, upstairs.”

Rose sat forward, “From what ya told me, Strauss is gonna be sittin’ behind Desmond and all but---how he gonna know what Arthur has?”

Trelawny looked over to her and smirked, “He won’t. But the dealer had recently become a very good friend of mine.”

“Another one...” Arthur sighed, feeling a little unsure.

“Don’t worry, you two... we’re all the authors of our own good fortune. He’ll make sure you get the right cards.”

Arthur looked over to Rose for a moment, “What could possibly go wrong?” Rose looked and saw they were almost at the boat as Arthur asked, “And what money am I playing with?”

“Don’t worry, that has all been arranged. Your chips will be waiting for you.” The carriage stopped, “Ah, there she is.” Arthur started to climb out, along with Rose. Trelawny turned his head at the two of them, “Leave any weaponry here. They’ll search us when we get on.”

“Dammit—“ Rose took off her belt, leaving her pistol behind, though she didn’t like the idea of that.

“George, we’ll collect these from you later.”

They made their way over the tracks and over to where a few of the boys were waiting, “Now Arthur—“ They continued forward and onto the docks, “Just watch Strauss, listen to the dealer and this should be a very lucky night.”Trelawny walked over to Strauss and Javier, “Arthur, you remember these boys, don’t you?” Rose followed along.

“Who’s that—“ Javier asked.

Rose shook her head, “It’s me, Rose.” Acknowledgement came across their faces.

Trelawny patted her back, “And for tonight shall be referred to as, Randy. Now c’mon gentlemen, champagne is on dear old Arthur. He’s rich as can be and feeling luckier than a turkey that survived Thanksgiving!”

They all walked onto the boat and after some time, it finally pulled away from port and headed out onto the water. With the fleeting thought that if something happened, that they’d have to swim all the damn way back to shore.

Rose followed Trelawny and Arthur, “Okay—“ Arthur sighed.

“You seem unsure?”

“Robbing a heavily armed river boat without a gun...tends to bring out the self doubt in me.”

Rose nodded her head in agreement, “Well, make the best of it then...brother.” she laughed, Trelawny turned to look at her, “Okay I’m done—“

“This is simple stuff...” They opened the doors and made their way into the gambling area. Lots of people and tables were filled with those who had the money to gamble away, “Now have a good time—but don’t lose too much money or your wife is going to kill me.”

Arthur shook his head, “Whatever you say—“ Trelawny left him and Rose alone.

She walked along with him and looked at the tables, “So—how ya wanna play this up, Brother!” she wasn’t good at voices.

Arthur walked over to one of the tables and sat down, “Good evening gentlemen...”

Rose walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder, “Fine evenin’ it is, gentlemen. My name is Randy, this here is m’older brother, Arthur.  He’s more good with cards than I am—so I’ll let ya gamble away all our money.“ her eyes went over to Desmond’s as he regarded her gaze, “we are in the oil business.“

“Oil?” Desmond looked over to her.

“Of course, everyone be needin’ that, now a days, Mr.Blythe.”

Desmond leaned back in his chair, “How do you know me?”

She smirked, “You’re in the hosiery business, ain’t ya? Great business to be sir.” She looked down to Arthur, she was probably over stepping it a little, “Gentlemen it is time for me to get outta your hair and on with your evenin’.  Which one of y’all can point me in right direction to the bar—“

“Over there lad—“ Desmond watched her closely, hopefully her charade was working.

She smiled, “Thank ya, Mr.Blythe. Good luck to ya, brother.” She looked down at him, “don’t lose all the money.” She walked away from the table and over to the bar, ordering a drink. Trelawny was sat down at one of smaller tables when she walked over to him and sat down, wanting to hide her face.  

“You make a fine lad.”

“Shut up, funny man—“ she took huge swig of her cocktail and looked over to him, “been wantin’ to ask, probably should have before I came on this damn thing...what’s the plan, if it don’t go well?”

He smiled, “oh m’dear. Don’t you worry your pretty head over it. Go, mingle. Arthur shouldn’t be too long.”

She sat back in the chair and looked over to the table where Arthur was sat. Trelawny’s answer brought her no comfort. For her it meant he didn’t have a plan, but she could be wrong. After some time, a gentleman came up to Arthur and spoke with him before leading him up the stairs. Rose placed her drink down and followed Arthur, patting him on the back. 

“M’dear brother. So how did it go? Win anything? Or did ya lose everything?”

Arthur looked over to her as they followed the man, “I did. Something mighty good.”

“Ain’t that grand? Good to know I don’t need to explain anything to your damn wife.” She elbowed him playfully. She could not wait for the night to be over. They followed him to outside of the boat and to more stairs, leading to the top of it. Javier finally joined them and he was dressed up as a guard.

“I think you’re going to like this watch, sir. I saw it earlier today and it really is a handsome piece. Foreign-made, but you can’t have everything.” They at last reached the top of the boat, “Well, here we are.”

It was a nice room, filled with lots of nice and expensive things. There was safe in front of them, with a guard to their right.  

“Just give me one second, sir.” The man walked over to the safe. Javier stood beside the other guard, gun in hand.

“Of course, take your time.”

The cheerful stupid demeanour left Rose, as she stood there with Arthur, waiting. After the safe was opened Javier used the rifle and butted the guard in the head as he fell down. Aiming his gun at the other feller.

“Don’t reach for that gun.” Arthur warned as he slowly walked over and took the pistol from the man before shoving him over to the side. Arthur began to loot whatever was in the safe when the man stood up and grabbed onto another weapon he had, pointing it at Arthur.

Arthur shot him in the head with both Javier and Rose looking concerned, “Shit! Let’s hope no one heard that. Quick, clear the safe and let’s get outta here.”

Rose went over and picked up the other gun the man had and shoved it into the waist of her pants, “fuck...do we ever get to do this quietly?”

“Apparently not—“ Arthur looted everything from the safe, “Looking pretty good in here—“

“How much?” Javier asked.

“Must be a few thousand. Plus the watch.”

They walked out of the room and along the deck, calmly and quietly. Rose walked beside Arthur as they went along.

“I reckon we’ve only got a few minutes to get out of here.”

“If we’re lucky.” Arthur kept his eyes forward.

Javier turning his head to look at them, “And how are we getting out of here, exactly?”

Rose looked out to the water, “I talked with Trelawny. He said don’t worry ‘bout it. ‘Cept I am...”

Two guards below them talked, “Was that a gunshot?”

“I think so, c’mon—“ they ran off back the other way.

The three of them walked down the stairs, onto the second and then the third deck, “This is what happens when you leave the plannin’ to Trelawny. All garnish, no meat. Probably involve us dressing up as dancing girls and can-caning off the side.”

Rose laughed at the thought. Mostly at the thought of the boys being the ones dressed up. They walked through back into the gambling room.

“Maybe we could still blend into the crowd when it all goes crazy.”

“Highly doubt that—“ Rose whispered to herself.

Arthur grabbed onto Rose, chummy like, “To the bar, m’brother!” he yelled loudly.

 Her eyes scanned around the area, as they made their way to the bar. They could hear Trelawny and it wasn’t starting to sound good at all.

“No sir, my friend is not a “no good cheat” and I beg you to take back the insinuation!”

“That can’t be good—“ she whispered to Arthur.

As they reached the bar, Mr.Blythe pointed his finger at Arthur, “there he is!”

“Now, don’t be a sore loser, friend.”

He looked at Trelawny and Arthur, “there’s something I don’t like about the pair of you.”

“There’s plenty I don’t like about you, but I have the good manners to keep my mouth shut.” Trelawny kept a tight hold on his drink.

Rose walked over, “Now, m’good sir. Perhaps I can interest ya in a drink. Calm ya nerves.”

Desmond looked at her and smirked, “You ain’t even a boy, are ya?” It was sudden and threw her off guard as he grabbed onto her dress shirt and ripped it open a little, exposing the wrap, which had come undone.

She laughed finally stopping the charade, “And here I thought ya had more manners Mr.Blythe—“

A man came running out in his union suit and pointed over to Javier, “There he is! Get that man!” Javier pulled the trigger on his rifle as someone tried to grab him. Everyone in the room made a run for it, screaming and yelling. Arthur hid behind the bar and Rose kept hidden behind a pillar. Trelawny had disappeared to god knows where.

“Just had to provoke him didn’t you?” Arthur yelled out to Rose.

She pulled out the gun from her pants, “Ain’t m’damn fault! I didn’t shoot no gun. So don’t ya fuckin’ blame me!” she came out from cover and took a few shots as Javier ran ahead and took down a few of the guards.

“Do we have a plan here?” Strauss asked.

Rose looked over to him, “Course—try not to die.” She left the pillar and knocked down one of the tables, taking cover.

Arthur came up from cover and hid behind the table with Rose, “We need to get out of here!”

“How do you suggest we do that!” Strauss yelled out.

Arthur looked to Rose, before taking another few shots, “I don’t know, this ain’t my show.”

Rose looked over to the doors and finally came out of cover as she bolted towards and through the doors, “C’mon ya fools!”

Trelawny had been waiting for the lot of them as they ran over.

“What about the alligators?” Strauss complained.

“Not the time!” Rose yelled as she grabbed onto him and pulled him off the boat, falling into the water. It was some deep water, little chilly. She came up to the surface and swam with the rest of them back to the docks. Rose climbed out of the water, helping Trelawny and Strauss out before ringing out her clothing.

“Well...” Trelawny started, “never a dull moment.”

Rose shook her head, “Ain’t that the truth.”

Trelawny looked over at Arthur, “So, how much did we get?”

“A few thousand, I think...pretty good.” He started handing out everyone’s share and handing Rose hers as she placed it into her pocket, “And this watch—“ Arthur pulled it out, “Apparently it’s worth a bunch, a...swiss, a Reutlinger or something?”

Strauss took it from Arthur, examining it, “Nice watch.” He looked at it, “Yes, it’s a Reutlinger alright.”

“Well give it back then.” He reached out and took it from Strauss. They all left the docks, Rose walking beside Arthur as they went back to their horses, “You comin’?”

“Naw, I’m staying in town. Gettin’ m’things and havin’ a damn bath.”

Arthur smirked, “Don’t wanna show the feller’s your new hair?”

“I know they’ll see it, but, I ain’t going back tonight. Give ‘em a heart attack another time.”

He laughed and she loved it, “Okay then. I will—see you tomorrow.”

Rose smiled softly and reached her hand out and grabbed onto his suit, pulling him close, “Still think I’m pretty?”

“I don’t think otherwise...” he looked down at her and grabbed onto her hands, pressing his lips to the top of them before he pulled away, “See you soon.”

“Course.” She smiled softly, feeling a bit discouraged. Something seemed off with Arthur, though she didn’t know what. She climbed up on her horse and went to retrieve hers things and then rented a room for the night. She had a bath and got back into her clothing, though...she was really missing her long hair, even if shorter hair was more manageable.

Sleep did not come easy, there seemed to be an aching pain in her bones, which dulled by the afternoon, as she had slept in that long. She stood up from the bed and walked over to the window, lighting up a smoke as she looked out and down at the street. It wasn’t until she saw Arthur that she hurried and got dressed, heading out of the Saloon, her smoke still in her mouth.

“Arthur—“ she went to yell out when  she saw that he wasn’t alone. He was with Mary. He slowly turned his head as she hid behind the corner of a building, “Shit—shit shit shit...” she whispered to herself. For a moment, she felt like following them. But then she leaned against the building there, working through her thoughts.

_Ya said you’d let him figure it out._

_Gonna be bad, if ya start being a nuisance..._

“Fuck...” she turned her head around the corner, seeing that they were gone and came out to go and get her horse. There’d be no point in her staying in town now, except she did. Clearly Mary needed some help with something. But even then, it wasn’t just that. They went to a show together...Rose shook her head at herself, it was stupid what she was doing and it wasn’t like her...but it was hurting. The feeling Dutch has...at least she thinks that’s what he has. That man had become a hard thing to understand as of recent. Arthur’s and Mary’s journey led them to the trolley station. Rose kept her distance, though she couldn’t see or hear much of anything. Arthur and Mary walked into view as Rose leaned against the building and kept her hat low and her face hidden.  

“Hello, m’dear.”

She slowly turned her head to the left, seeing Dutch sat on a bench reading the paper, “Goin’ for a ride on the trolley, are ya?”

“Not at all.” He looked over at her, “What you doing here?”

Her eyes closed as she turned her head back to the right, peeking out, “Being nosy.”

Dutch nodded his head, “Well then—“ he looked down seeing Arthur and Mary, talking. Rose felt some panic as Arthur turned his head, to look down their way. Dutch quickly grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her to the side of the building and out of sight, pinning her between him and the wall. He slowly peeked out seeing Mary depart from Arthur.

Rose stood there, her gaze hidden under her hat, “Maybe ya were right—“ she whispered, trying not to cry. She took a deep breath, “He don’t love me.”

“C’mon—“

“I ain’t goin’ nowhere—“ she looked up at him from under her hat, “Ya think I don’t know how you’re feelin’ right now? How goddamn happy ya must be—“

“Stop it, Rose.”

“Bet it makes ya feel real good, seein’ m’hurt like this—“

Dutch didn’t look all too pleased about the conversation, “It ain’t like that, Rose.” He looked down at her, for a moment he did look sad...though it didn’t last long, “Let’s get you a drink.”

She looked away from him, “No—“

“I’ll buy—“

Her eyes watched his, “No.” She pulled away from him, “I’ll buy m’own.”

“Lead the way, m’dear.” They headed over to the Saloon together and sat at the bar, ordering herself a whiskey, though she mostly stared at it. She took off her hat and placed it on the bar as Dutch looked over to her, seeing how short her hair was.

“Ya can talk to the funny man ‘bout that.” She motioned to the lack of her hair, “must admit, easier to deal with...”  

He ran his eyes, along the curve of her jaw and down her neck. He smirked, “You look fine. And you’ll look great for the party.”

“Yeah, so I’ve already been told.” She finally shot back her drink and looked over to Dutch, “What?”

“It suits you, m’dear.” He shot back his drink and looked over seeing her downing expression, “are you okay?”

She watched him from the corner of her eye, “I don’t really think ya care if I am or not—“

“Goddamn it, Rose. What is your problem?” he turned to look at her as she threw the glass down onto the floor, shattering it completely.

“You are, Mr.Van Der Linde.” She hissed through her teeth, “ya always have been!”

The bartender went to speak but couldn’t get a word in between the two of them.

“You really think you’re something, don’t you? You were nothing till I found you—you act so goddamn innocent when you’re just as guilty as me—“ out of her anger, she clocked him one in the face, her fist making contact with his cheek. Her eyes glared at him, shaking with madness. He touched his cheek lightly and looked up, smirking at her, “Trying to prove my point, m’dear?”

 She grabbed onto her hat and left the Saloon quickly, noticing it had gotten darker out as she walked down the street, feeling her heart pounding hard in her chest. Her anger got out of hand back there, though perhaps it had been a long time coming for that man, a good punch in the face. Dutch caught up with her and pulled her into the alleyway, though she pulled away.

“Get away from me.” She gritted out. But he pulled her back, before she shoved him against the wall, her hands gripping tightly onto his vest. Her eyes searching for something in his, that she wasn’t even sure she’d find.  He watched the anger leave her face, “What ya want from me, Dutch?”

“You know, Rose. I’ve told you many times...it hasn’t changed.”

“Everything has changed, Dutch...ya just don’t see it yet—“ Her eyes stayed on his as she pulled away slowly and turned to leave the alleyway. As she rounded the corner, an onset of pain shot through her bones and fell over against the wall, leaning and breathing through the sharp pain. Her eyes clenched shut, waiting for it pass, if it ever would. Something was wrong with her, so very wrong. Dutch walked over to her and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

“Rose...“ She wasn’t sure she could stay awake, her body felt so tired, so weak. Eventually she collapsed, with Dutch having to carry her to the nearest place so he could rent a room. She wasn’t out for long, maybe an hour or so. She woke up, seeing Dutch having a smoke, his sleeves rolled up, his hair a damn mess, the shiner on his cheek. He looked human for a moment, like he had been worrying, wondering if she was gonna wake up at all. The bed creaked as she pulled herself out of bed and slowly walked over to where Dutch stood, looking out of the window.

He turned his head, hearing a noise and saw Rose standing there, “Glad to see you’re up.”

“Me too...” She spoke softly, not really looking at him. He butted out his smoke and looked down at her. She reached out her hands and pulled him close, slowly unbuttoning his vest.

“Rose—“

“Tell me what you want—“ she whispered and started unbuttoning his shirt, exposing his chest and the hair on it. Her hands grabbed tightly onto his belt and moved him over to the bed, before she pushed him, watching him fall onto the mattress, “tell me—“

Dutch rested on his elbows, looking up at her as she slowly began to unbutton her shirt. Moving over to him and standing between his legs. He still didn’t say anything and only watched her, how pink her lips were, how her chest rose, how delicately she worked at unbuckling her belt. He reached his hands down, undoing his pants

 “What’s the matter, Dutch? Cat got your tongue?”

He sat up quickly and yanked her down onto the bed, her body now beneath his, “Not a cat. A temptress.” His right hand ran along her stomach and up to her breasts, he moved the shirt over exposing the pink bud and bent down, taking it into his hot mouth.

“Ah—god—“ she arched her head back squirming beneath his touch. His hand slid down and took off her pants and undergarments. Her hands cupped his face as she pulled him down, pressing her lips deeply against his. His fingers made their way down between her legs and to her aching cunt, pushing two fingers inside.

“So wet—so ready—“ he breathed against her ear, pumping in and out of her, “Does it feel good?”

“Y—yes oh—fuck—“ Between the pleasure and the immense jealousy and anger she was feeling, she was starting to wonder if this was a good idea. His lips found hers as he continued to finger fuck her. Her moans echoing against his lips, “Fuck—me—“ she breathed out. He pulled his fingers out and moved between her legs, sliding his pants down and off the bed, his cock throbbing and dripping with his own lust.

His eyes ran down along her, the tip of him prodding against her entrance, “Do you want me?”

“Yes—“

“How bad? Tell me—“ he bent down beside her ear, “Beg for it.”

“Dutch—fuck me please—I—I need you—“ her fingers were tight in his hair.

He looked back down at her, watching her eyes. It was his next words that made her scream internally, “Then tell me, you’re  _mine_.”

She turned her head away from his piercing gaze, the pleasure that was there, was now turning into dread for her. He bent down, running his lips along her ear.

“I love you, Rose...” he pulled her hips against his and groaned softly against her ear, feeling the tightness and warmth surround him before sheathing himself completely in her. Once again saying, “Tell me you’re  _mine._ ”

Rose turned her head back to look at him, this Dutch...wasn’t the same one that she knew all those  years ago. That Dutch...well he truly loved her, even before she knew about his feelings. But this one, well, if he did love her...he had a goddamn funny way of showing it.

Her hands went down and cupped his face and his eyes closed at the warmth, “Dutch--"

“I ain’t asking for much--" he whispered and bent down, slowly thrusting his hips against hers. Soft moans echoed from her lips, his hands sliding up her sides, “He’s moved on, Rose--" he thrust into harder, causing her moans to turn in cries. She shouldn’t be listening to him, he was twisting words…it’s what he was good at. But she couldn’t help it. “I’m right here—loving you every damn day--" she turned her head away, her eyes shut tightly as he fucked her.

“Dutch...” she whimpered out.

He bent down beside her ear and cupped the side of her face, pressing his lips against her ear, softly, “he don’t love you—you can see that now--" a few tears slid down the side of her face. “I need you, Rose—I need you so goddamn much--"

“Then—cum for me—“ Her fingers laced in his hair as she pulled him close, feeling herself reach her climax. Her lips laced tightly against his as a few tears slid down her face.

If Arthur did move on…there was nothing she could do about it.

He held her close, thrusting a few more times before spurts of hot cum filled her. His breathing ragged as he rested his head against hers. The grip in his hair wouldn’t let up, “I don’t want no one else--" he whispered.

 

In the aftermath she stood by the window and had a smoke. Dutch sat on the bed, as he watched her, his cigar in hand. Her eyes would look over to him, inhaling the smoke and breathed out as if she was sighing.

“Penny for your thoughts, m’dear?”

She turned to look at him, her hair messed up and yet she still looked beautiful, “What happens if I agree, Dutch? What happens then?”

“I can make you happy.”

She laughed softly for a moment, “Cause you’re doin’ such a good job now—“ her eyes went down to her smoke “Is that what ya truly want? To make me happy?”

Dutch moved from the bed and walked up behind her, naked. His hand ran along her shoulder, “We ain’t got a lot of time on this world, Rose.”

“You ain’t wrong, Dutch--“ She sighed and turned to face him, “Ya want me to say I’m yours? Fine, have it your way. It ain’t ever been otherwise.”

“I want you to want me, Rose. That’s—all I’ve ever wanted.”

“There ain’t no happy endin’s for people like us, Dutch.” The smoke shook lightly between her fingers, watching him, “only pain. Sufferin’...”

He butted out his smoke, his hands trailing along her bare shoulders, “there can be, Rose. We just—we just need more—“

“More what, more money?” whatever emotions she felt, her eyes stayed on his, “why is it always more with ya, Dutch?”

 “Because I want us to go, to go far away from all this and live in goddamn peace—“ he stopped, seeing the pain in her eyes.

“Ya don’t mean us---ya mean you.” She sighed sadly and walked back over to the bed, the sheet dropping down on the floor as she began to change back into her clothing, “I miss the old Dutch. The man that loved me and Agatha—he cared. When I look at ya...I don’t see him there. There’s someone else--”

The space closed between them quick, his arms wrapping around her waist, “I’m still here, Rose—I care. I’ve always cared—“

“Have ya? Is that what this is between us? Ya carin’ ‘bout me? Cause all I’m seein’ is a man tryin’ to make sure I don’t be with no one else--”

Dutch laughed for a moment, “You ain’t no different.”

She went to pull away but he held her tightly, his face inches from hers, “Arthur is free to choose, who he wants. Ya can’t force people to be with ya—Colm—“ she turned her face away from Dutch, “Colm tried that. Agatha she—she’d fallen for some feller that worked as a farmhand. Colm wanted her and she—she didn’t.” she looked back at him, some tears sliding down her cheeks, “that boy loved her—he really did. Broke m’heart to tell him ‘bout Agatha.“ more tears fell from her eyes, “we shouldn’t have left ya—“

“I ain’t Colm O’Driscoll, Rose. I want you—“

She laughed and it was heartbreaking, “Micah wanted me too, Dutch and I didn’t want him. But ya know, that man took charge and ya know what he did to me?” Dutch closed his eyes for a moment, hearing the strain in her voice and pulled her hard against his chest, “he forced me up against a tree and shoved that goddamn pistol of his hard against my neck, while he _raped_  me--” 

Dutch pulled away and finished changing before he opened the door as it slammed hard against the wall. Rose hurried and grabbed her things, chasing after him, wondering why he rushed out, “Dutch!” but he didn’t answer her. She climbed up on her horse and followed after him, realizing they were heading back to camp. They galloped along the road and through the swamp. He hadn’t bothered to look behind him, or acknowledge her. But his horse was faster, poor lily couldn’t keep up with him. She slowed trying to give her horse a break as she watched Dutch move further and further away, “Shit—“

She wasn’t too far behind him when she reached camp. He climbed off his horse and briskly walked over to the camp fire where everyone was sitting, minus Molly. She wasn’t sure where she was. Rose hurried over seeing Dutch lightly pat on Micah’s back as they walked into the house together. As Rose made her way to the doors, there was the sound of glass shattering and a loud thud.

Rose thru the door open as she ran inside and grabbed onto Dutch, pulling him away from Micah. Something she thought, she’d never do, “Dutch—“ she gritted through her teeth and fell backwards onto her ass.  Arthur came down stairs, seeing Rose on the floor and Dutch and Micah at each other.

He grabbed onto the scruff of Micah’s neck and threw him against the wall. Dutch’s eyes digging into Micah’s, “Do we have an understanding, my friend?”

Rose stood up looking at the two of them, Micah turning his gaze over to hers before looking back at Dutch, “Course, Dutch. Whatever you say...”

The amount of anger Rose was feeling was beyond anything she could understand. Her eyes went to Dutch’s for a moment as he turned to look at her. Arthur walked over Rose, but she pulled away from him and left the house, not wanting to be near anyone for a long while. 

Rose headed out from camp and parked herself some ways from the damn place, setting up her bed roll and a fire. She sat there for the longest while, till she saw someone approach her camp, her hand went down to her pistol and pulled it out, “I reckon if ya don’t want a bullet, ya best stay away—“

“I’d hate to know who pissed ya off—“

“Hosea—“ she sighed and put her gun back, “What ya doing here?” he walked over to her and sat down on the ground beside her, offering her up a smoke.

“Arthur—asked me to check on ya.”

“You’re a good man, Hosea.” She lit up the smoke and stared down at the fire.

He shook his head, “Don’t think I ever was, m’dear.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, “That’s bullshit.” her eyes glossy against the fire as she looked over at him. He reached his hand over placed it on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly, “Your better than ya think ya are.” Tears lined her eyes as she looked away from him and took off her hat.

“That’s short—“ he chuckled for a moment, “what happened?”

“Fucking Trelawny—him and his goddamn plans. That’s what happened.” She wiped away the tears, inhaling her smoke, “bastard—“ and breathed out, as she leaned against Hosea. His arm wrapped around her shoulder.

“Ya gonna be okay, m’dear?”

Goddamn woman cried every time she was around him, but she didn’t care, not when it came to him, “I don’t think so, Hosea.”

He pressed his lips on the top of her head, and held her there for a few moments, before he stood up and looked down at her, “I’m here if ya need me, Rose.”

“Thank ya. Don’t tell Arthur where I am. Or Dutch—or anyone for that matter.”

“ya have m’word, dear.” Hosea smiled to himself as he made his way back to camp, though he wasn’t gonna tell her that they could see where she was from the camp grounds.  
  
  
A week went by, as she stayed there and camped out, Hosea being the only one that came over to check on her from time to time. Rose finally packed up her things and headed back to camp as she reached the grounds, Dutch came out of the house, talking out to Arthur and Hosea, “C’mon! If we’re gonna make it to this party, we sure as shit better clean up a little.” He walked over to Arthur and Hosea.

“So we’re doing this?” Arthur asked looking at Dutch. Rose made her way over to the three of them.

“Oh yeah.” Hosea said and stood up from table, “Old friend Dutch Van Der Linde, has finally shown his true colors...social climbing.”

Rose laughed at the comment, “And here I was thinkin’ it was drivin’ the lot of ya nuts—“

“Very funny, Rose—“ Dutch waved his hand at her, “Old Signor Bronte, that horrendous snake, has invited us to the ball, Cinderella. So my suggestion is, we go and get you a gown.” He laughed as Arthur shook his head.

“You son of a bitch.” He mumbled.

Dutch looked over to Rose, “And you, m’dear. Definitely need a gown—“

“Indeed, I do Dutch.“ she smirked and headed over to her horse and climbed up, “But I ain’t lettin’ the lot of ya go shoppin’ with me. Ms. Mary-Beth has graciously agreed to help me and is meetin’ with me in town.” She turned to look at the three of them, “Bettin’ I make it to the party before ya yahoos do.”

Bill walked over looking at the lot of them, “I’ll take that bet—“

“You’re goin’?” she covered her mouth stifling her laughter, “I can’t imagine the sophistication ya gonna bring with ya, Bill—“

“Shut it, woman.“ 

“Till then, boys.” She smiled and galloped out of the camp, heading to the main road and towards Saint Denis. Mary-Beth was waiting at the tailors when she arrived; she stood outside writing in her book. Rose walked over to her, “Been dreadin’ this all week—“

Mary-Beth looked up from her book and put it away, “Hush now—you’re in good hands, Rose. Also this’ll be fun. Anything to get me away from Ms.Grimshaw is good enough for me.” She grabbed onto Rose’s hand and dragged her into the shop.

Rose felt her cheeks burning red as she tried on many dresses and went through quite a lot of them, “Ain’t nothin’ look good, Mary-Beth! Goddamn hair—this is Trelawny’s fault—“ she sighed and rested her head against the wall of the changing room, “And—what in tarnation is this goddamn thing ‘round m’waist?”

“A corset—“ she walked over to Rose and rested her hand on her shoulder, “do ya want something with a bit more skin?”

“It’s a high society party and ya askin’ me that?” Rose groaned, feeling a bit of laughter bubble up from her.

“OH!” Mary-Beth smiled, “I got one more idea.”

It seemed it was the right idea.

The dress was a red and silky, the top of the dress went across her breasts and hugged her arms. The back went down into a v shape, exposing some of her skin. The midsection slimmed down to her waist and fanned out. Rose sat in the carriage as it travelled along the streets towards the Mayor’s place. Mary-Beth stole a flower from the tailor’s vase and placed it the side in her hair. It was a rose. The idea made her laugh, causing the driver to turn his head and give her a look.

“You alright, miss?”

“I feel like a goddamn turkey stuff up in this thing.” She grabbed onto the fan that Mary-Beth had also...stolen for her as she began to fan herself, “I mean—ah fuck—“ she mumbled to herself. Lady of high class she was not. The carriage pulled up to the building and as Rose was beginning to climb out, the driver hopped down and extended his hand to her. She sighed and grabbed onto it. Might as well try and be a lady for the evening. She walked through the gates and up to the house, unsure if the boys had made it there yet.

“Good evenin’ miss.”

“Good evenin’—“ she looked around, it was a goddamn nice house alright, “Is Mr.Bronte here?”

“Yes, he is upstairs.” She was sure this man was thrown off by her short hair, but with her breasts clearly shoved into the dress, what question could there possibly be? “Come this way.” He smiled softly and slowly lead her up a ton of stairs, heels were never something that agreed with her, especially going up a shit ton of stairs. Angelo was sitting with a bunch of men outside on the balcony, drinking their wine and laughing it up in Italian.

“Mr.Bronte,” the man moved to the side letting Rose on through, “a lady for you sir.”

Angelo stood up, “Mia Cara! What—what has happened to your lovely long locks—“ he walked over, his fingers lightly brushing against her hair. What was it and her having short hair that made everyone crazy?

She pulled away, “It’s a long story, Angelo. One for another time.”

“Of course, Mia cara. Please, come sit—“

She looked around and smiled softly, “Waitin’ on some friends down below...whenever they decide to get here.” She was starting to feel really hot and began to fan herself.

Angelo smirked, “I see. Well Mia cara, please go. Mingle. Drink.”

“Good evenin’ gentlemen,” she tried to curtsy, but couldn’t bend much in the dress and made her way back inside and back down the stairs, the feller from before lead her to the backyard, where everyone was, chatting and mingling.

“Enjoy the party, miss. And welcome to Saint Denis.”

Rose nodded her head and moving the fan back and forth as she walked out and over to the stone railing. As much as she fancied a drink at this point, she doubted it would help with her heating problem. She looked around at everyone chatting it up, some people speaking in other languages that she for the life of her, didn’t understand. She stood there resting and waiting, wondering if they were already here, or if she had beaten the boys there.

“Goddamn it—“ she turned seeing Bill and Hosea.

“I win!” she smirked and continued to fan herself, “Ya owe me now—“

“Ah—dammit.“ he grumbled. Hosea looked over to her and smiled. Though he was started to look concerned about her.

“Are you okay, m’dear?”

She laughed for a moment and turned her attention back out to the party, “No—I can’t even breathe. I wanted a drink, but it ain’t gonna help m’cause—“ she was expending more energy trying to fan herself.  

Dutch and Arthur finally joined them, “Gentlemen, let’s go ingratiate ourselves.”

Rose turned her head to look behind her and saw the both of them, “My my—how I do like a man in a suit.” She smirked.

Arthur looked at the back of her dress and smirked, he really was enjoying her short haircut, “Guess Trelawny wasn’t wrong. What was it he said to ya?”

“Skin for miles. Yes...what a funny man.” It was starting to feel really hot in the dress. If she didn’t have the corset on it wouldn’t have been so bad.

Dutch walked over to her and grabbed onto her hand, kissing the top of it, “You look lovely.” She still wasn’t overly happy with Dutch, with what happened. But she smiled and pulled away from him.

“Well gentlemen, let’s go mingle.” She smiled softly and walked down the stairs slowly, feeling like her stomach was being squeezed to death and the fan was doing her no justice now, “Dammit—“ she whispered to herself. It was Arthur that had followed behind her, latching his arm around hers as he caught up with her.

“You gonna live?” he whispered to her.

“It’s the corset—don’t know if I’ll be able to survive the night without turnin’ blue!”

Arthur patted her hand and walked with her over to the Mayor.

“Surprised Dutch didn’t follow and try and whisk me away.”

Arthur nodded his head, finally asking, “What is goin’ on between you two?”

She looked over at him, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, “A lot of bullshit, Arthur. A lot of bullshit—“ her body gave way for a moment as she fell into Arthur. His hands holding tightly onto her as she looked up at him, “Mr.Morgan...” she whispered, through the heat and breathlessness, she was horny.  

“Ms. Reeds...” he helped her up and continued to walk with her, grabbing a drink for her on the way. She put the fan away and held tightly onto her drink as they made their way to a group of men who were chatting to each other.

“Good evenin’ gentlemen.”

“Ah, Mr.Mayor, wonderful to see you again.”

Rose leaned into Arthur, “That him?”

“Seems so—“ he walked closer with her into the group of men.

“Lemieux, this intellectual here was just insulting me regarding the red skins.”

“I did no such thing!”

“But, Mr.Lemieux, I suggested that all of us, as Americans, had a duty to take care of people living in this land...and that extends to Saint Denis.”

“It ain’t complex, Lemieux and only an idiot like you, buddy, would try to make it so.”

The Mayor nodded his head, “I will not deny idiocy, sir, but perhaps now is not the time.”

The man laughed at the Mayor, “Typical pansy.”

“You’re drunk, Ferdinand.”

“I’m not drunk ya fool—but this man—“ he grabbed onto the feller beside him, “This man loves darkies.”

Arthur pulled away from Rose and wrapped his arm around the guys shoulder, “You are pretty drunk. “ he grabbed onto his hand and twisted it behind his back, “What’s say you and me cool off?” he began taking the man away from the lot of them.

Rose stood there looking at the men, “Ya know, some people don’t understand ‘bout helpin’ others. Seems to be a complex thing in this life.”

“Thank you. Ms...”

She extended her hand, “Ms. Reeds. That man that just took your friend away, he’s m’husband.”

“He is no friend of mine.” Lemieux took a sip of his drink as Arthur returned and walked over to the Mayor.

“Thank you, sir.” He shook Arthur’s hand, “Henri Lemieux. I hope you are enjoying my party.”

Rose placed her hand on Arthur’s arm, “I feel faint, m’dear. I’m gonna go and have a seat. I shall see ya soon?”

“Of course.”

Rose pulled away from Arthur, “pleasure to meet ya, gentlemen.”

They nodded their heads in acknowledgement and as she walked away, she heard Henri say to Arthur, “What a lovely wife, you have.”

She turned her head to look at Arthur, smirking as he spoke, “Yeah, she’s certainly something.”

There was a stone gazebo in the courtyard as she walked over to it and sat down on one of the stones and lit up a smoke. Heaven forbid she’d die trying to inhale it. A loud sound caused her to jump and looked seeing the silhouette of colors mark the ground for a moment. She came out from the gazebo and looked up seeing fireworks in the sky.

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

She smirked and turned to look at Dutch, “What? The fireworks or the fact that ya can see most of m’goddamn skin?”

Dutch laughed and walked over to her as they looked up at the fireworks, “can’t it be both?”

“Dutch...” she shook her head and looked over at him, “I ain’t happy with ya. What ya did to Micah.”

“He deserved it.”

“No. He deserves a goddamn bullet in the head.” Her eyes lingered there for a moment, “Arthur knows and he didn’t go all crazy and try and kill the bastard.”

“Rose—“

“No, Dutch—“ she took a moment to breathe, “My battles ain’t yours to fight.”

He raised his hands up in defeat, “You’re right.” Did he really mean that? “I’m sorry.”

Rose turned her head, seeing Arthur disappear into the crowd, “I’m gonna get another drink. Maybe see how Hosea is doin’.” She stopped, looking over at him, “though I must say—“ Dutch looked at her, “ya sure do look handsome.”  

Dutch smiled to himself and watched as she walked away from him, disappearing into the crowd. She caught the tail end of Arthur as he disappeared into the house. He was following someone and she was following him and hopefully Dutch wasn’t following her. Her heels clicked along the floor as she tried to catch up with Arthur, recognizing the stairs she had gone up earlier before to see Angelo Bronte, “Arthur—“ she whispered, not wanting to be too loud. She made her way up the stairs, feeling the shortness of breath, “fuck—“ she peeked her head around the corner and looked over to the room, seeing the door open. Quickly she went inside looking around the room, looked like an office of some sort, “Arthur—“ she tried to be a little louder and walked through to the other room. There was a door over to the side and as she went near, it opened quickly and a hand yanked her into the small room. It was filled with some books, mostly junk and a small table.

Arthur sighed in relief, “Thought some was followin’ me.” He leaned against the small table, “It’s just you.”

“Why ya in here?” He pulled out some papers, letting Rose read over them, “Mayor’s doin’ something big, huh—“ she handed the papers back over.

“Doesn’t seem like he likes Cornwall much.”

“Well it’s ‘nough for them to be doin’ business together—“ her eyes went up to his for a moment and then quickly looked away, remembering him and Mary together in town the last time she saw him, “We should—get outta here—“

“Rose,” He moved away from the table and looked down at her, “you asked me to figure some things out and I did.”

She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the feelings, “I kinda figured,” Arthur gave her a look, “when I saw ya with Mary in Saint Denis...”

“So that was you...thought I saw ya.” He chuckled, shaking his head, “You’re a bigger fool than I am.” His eyes pierced hers, watching her.

She laughed softly, biting her bottom lip for a second, “Ain’t disagreein’ with ya. But why?”

“C’mere.” He whispered. She moved over to him and stood in front of him, as he leaned against the small table, his hands grabbing onto both of hers. He kept his gaze down for a moment before trailing up to her face, “I’m sorry it took so long. So goddamn long to tell you that---I love you, Rose.”

“I love ya, too.” She leaned her head against his, feeling happiness and yet a sadness come over her, “Tryin’ to make me cry, Mr.Morgan?”

His hands ran around her waist and pulled her close, “No—“ he whispered softly, “There’s other things I can try—“

“Oh?” she breathed out, her voice low and seductive, “I got something ya can try—“

He seemed to be intrigued, until reality set in. She was having trouble breathing and had been complaining since she got there—“You’s want that corset off, don’t ya?”

“Oh god please—“ she groaned out, “Please—I hate it. I can’t breathe. I’m so hot and bothered—“ his hands ran up to her dress and began to unbutton the back, “so goddamn hot—“

He hummed deep in this throat and the sound sent a shot of pleasure through her. “Let’s fix that then...”  He stood up, unbuttoning the rest of her dress. Her hands cupped his face, looking at him. She was free from the torment of her feelings...but was she free from Dutch?

He slid his hands down to the strings of her corset, pulling at them. Her breathing was ragged, both from the lack of breathe and the immense pleasure she was feeling. He turned her around, getting a better look at what he was doing, “goddamn it—“ he grumbled, “Had to wear this damn thing—“

“Don’t ya blame me—“ she breathed out, feeling like he was tightening it more.

Arthur looked around the small room, trying to find anything sharp, he had enough of strings for one day.

“Arthur Morgan what ya—“ she gasped feeling the tightness leave from her mid section and pulled the damn thing off, throwing it to the ground, “thank ya—“ she breathed out, feeling his hand slide down her bare back.

His eyes wandered along her skin, seeing the bruising and there was a lot of it, “Rose...“ He pulled her against him his hands sliding through the opening of her dress and along her waist, her moans were soft and quiet as he did so.

“Ya better be undoing those pants—“ she smirked. He pulled his hands away and turned her around to face him. His lips pressed roughly against hers as he moved her onto the small table, bunching up her skirt as much as he could and moved between her legs, “A-arthur—“

He groaned, feeling her hands slid down to his pants as she unbuttoned them, working quickly. His resting against hers, “We’s gonna get caught—“ he moaned feeling her hand grab onto his cock, lightly stroking it. His head nuzzled into her neck, breathing raggedly.

“Make love to me—“ she whispered, feeling an ache in her breasts and between her legs, “I need ya, Arthur—“

“That so?” he smirked, breathing heavily. His hands ran along her thighs and to her undergarments, ripping them as he tried to pull them off. Her hands pushed down his pants slightly, moving her legs around his waist and yanking him forward. The tip of his cock pushed against her aching cunt before thrusting easily inside of her, feeling the heat of her tight around him, “I need you—“ he whispered against her lips, fucking her hard and slow. Pleasure filled her senses as she latched onto him, her moans, turning into whimpers and gasps. His fingers dug into her hips as he lifted her up and pushed her hard against the wall.

“Arthur—“ she gasped and held tightly onto him, pressing her lips against his deeply and eagerly, mewling each time he thrust up into her sweet spot. He didn’t know how much longer he’d be lasting, but she felt hot and bothered beneath his touch and he couldn’t get enough of it.

“I love you—“ he whispered against her lips, now fucking her hard and fast against the wall.

“I—“ she cried out, feeling a dull ache in her bones, “—I love you—“ and she meant it. But in the back of her mind, there was dread. “So—goddamn much—“ she closed her eyes, feeling the tears shake behind her eyelids.

“Rose—“ he breathed out and kissing her once more.

“Ah—fuck—“ her moans echoed in his ears, feeling himself nearing his peak, “H-harder—“ But he didn’t, he slowed down feeling how wet and hot every inch of her was. His lips running and nipping along her neck, “please—I’m close—“

He groaned at the prospect, moving in and out of her a bit faster, his one hand gripping tightly onto her ass, while the other slid up and cupped the side of her face, “let me feel ya—“ his breath hot against her neck as he kissed upwards, finally finding her lips once more.

Her heels dug into his backside as her toes curled and moaned loudly against his lips. The pleasure pulsed hot and tightly around his cock as he pulled her hips hard once more and stilled. His moans echoing against her own as he came, filling her. They were breathing heavily as his grip on her loosened, her eyes opening to look at his.

She wiped back some of his sweaty hair and smirked. But she didn’t say anything.

“Yous gonna stare at me all night or should I just drop ya?” his eyes still had that edge within them, but they had grown softer.

“Ya ain’t gonna do that. I’ll knife ya in your sleep.”

“Don’t doubt that—“ He laughed, his voice raspy and deep as usual. He moved her from the wall and back to the table, at last being able to slightly pull away from her. His forehead rested against hers as her hands worked at pulling and buttoning up his pants, “Should get back to the others.”

“Yeah—“ she kissed him tenderly one last time, “Gonna help me?” she stood up from the table and turned around. He stopped looking down at her, how fragile she looked. After a few minutes she turned her head and looked behind at him, “Arthur?”

“What’s happened to ya?”

She smiled sadly for a moment, “Ain’t nothin’ wrong, Arthur. As I said, I’m damaged. But I’m still here.”

He moved close to her and began to button up her dress, his fingers working slowly and gently, “That you are.”

“Now hurry up—wanna least get one more drink in me before I hafta leave—“ she looked down to the corset on the floor.

“What you wanna do with that?”

“Leave it. Can be a partin’ gift for the Mayor.” She walked over to the door and opened it slowly, peeking her head out as she did so, “Looks clear.”

Her and Arthur snuck out through the room and back down the stairs, wondering where everyone else was. Dutch was standing and looking out at the party, Hosea and Bill still mingling with others. The rose she had in her hair had fallen out, presumably in the small room they were just in. Dutch looked over to her and then to Arthur.

“Find anything?”

Arthur patted his chest pocket, “I think so.”

“Nothing—“ Bill said as him and Hosea walked up the stairs and over to them, “this town is a waste of time.”

“Maybe not—“ Hosea grabbed onto Bill and moved him aside to talk to Arthur, “Arthur—“ he paused for a moment, Arthur nodding his head in response. “I think we’re done here....” Hosea extended his arm out to Rose as she wrapped her arm around it, walking out with the four of them.

 

It was a few days later when Dutch came a calling for Rose. Though for once he actually wanted to discuss a plan rather than...invade her space. Arthur was waiting up there with Dutch when she came upstairs and out to the balcony. She looked between the two of them, pulling out a smoke, “Fine day we’s havin’.” 

Dutch smiled, “Indeed, m’dear.” He lit up a match and held it out to Rose as she lit her smoke up.

“What’s goin’ on fellers?” She looked over to Arthur, smiling to herself.

“What’s going on, is that trolley bus station. I went down there, I took a look at it...I think we can hit it.”

Arthur walked over to the railing and leaned back, “I ain’t never robbed in a city before.”

“Yeah, well you leave the planning to me. You both will ride with me?”

Arthur nodded his head yes as Rose blew out some of the smoke from her mouth, laughing for a moment, “Jeez, who else would plan it? Think ya’d shoot one of us if we ever tried, Dutch.” He looked over to her, “I mean sure, I’ll ride with ya.” She turned her head out to look down at the camp, “Just one thing, fellers—Have any of ya seen Kieran?” Dutch and Arthur looked over to her.

“Why, you looking for him? Gonna scare him some more.” Dutch laughed as Rose shook her head and turned to look at him.

“No, ya fool. Karen said the other day she hadn’t seen him a long while...wonderin’ where the hell he had gone—“ the sound of a horse’s hooves trotting on the ground turned her attention down to the ground, where Kieran sat, his head in the palm of his hands, “Oh god—“ Rose backed away from the railing, Dutch and Arthur looking down. 

Mary-Beth screaming loudly, “It’s Kieran!”

“What the hell have they done to him?” Arthur gritted through his teeth.

Dutch looked out and pointed, “Look there...in the tree line—“ Rose looked over and pulled out her pistol, “Everybody take cover!” Dutch yelled out as everyone in the camp ran. Rose hurried behind one of the pillars, “O’Driscoll boys are coming.”

The sound of gunfire echoed out through the sky, as they fired their guns off. A few bullets hit off the wooden pillar as Rose stuck her head out to shoot down some of the men, “Jesus Christ—“ she breathed out.

“Women and children inside—Rest of you, hold your ground!” Dutch yelled out and then turned over to look at Arthur, “Get down there and help them.” He didn’t move for a few moments, till Dutch grabbed onto him and shoved him through the door, “Go now—“ Arthur disappeared into the house. Rose went to move when Dutch spoke out, “Stay—gonna need your help up here—“

“Dutch—“

“Rose—don’t argue with me. Now ain’t the time!” He was right. And she didn’t want to argue. She shot her guns a few more times.

“Goddamn it—never endin’ bastards!” she yelled out, more bullets hitting off the pillar and into the wall, “what’s the grand plan now, Dutch?” she looked over to him as he took a few shots.

“Barricade the damn house—“

“Dutch—ya can’t be serious—“ she turned out and as she went to take fire off her gun, a bullet sliced through her left arm. She fell down and looked over at her arm, “Shit---“ she hissed through her teeth.

“Rose—“ he moved over to the next pillar taking a few shots, “Rose, answer me—“

“I’m fine—“ her eyes went out to the camp grounds, “Got a goddamn wagons comin’ in, Dutch—“

John’s voice echoed over the lot of them, “We’re getting overwhelmed! Fall back to the house!”

Dutch came over and grabbed onto Rose, helping her into the house and trying to move as quick as they could. The pistol shook in her left hand as blood ran down her arm and hand. Arthur’s voice yelled out, “What in God’s name is going on? We’re overrun.”

Rose made her way down the stairs, trying to keep her body calm. Dutch hurried down past her, “Everyone stay calm. We need something in front of that door. “ Rose rested against the wall, breathing through the pain, if she needed to shoot, she’d have to push through it, no matter the cost. Dutch walked over to Arthur and the others, “Gentlemen, I got this. Get these windows covered quickly...John you take the windows over there. Charles you take the side door there. Arthur, you take the windows in the back...go.” Dutch pointed, Rose walking over to him slowly as he looked at her blood soaked arm, “You’re with me—c’mon—“ she followed Dutch over to a set of windows, hiding behind the wall and breaking the window to shoot out of.

“This is insane, Dutch—“ she cried out, feeling the pain each time she fired her gun, “Can we—“

“Hold on, Rose—“ Dutch shot out the window a few times before deciding to leave Rose on her own. She peeked out taking every shot that she could and shot down a few men, and only injuring a few others. But soon there was no one on her side of the house and the gunfire had ceased. Rose made her way outside to where everyone was, and walked over beside Hosea.

“Everyone okay?” he looked over to Rose, seeing the blood.

“I think so,” Dutch said and looked down at Kieran, “except for Kieran here—“

Rose looked down at the headless Kieran and closed her eyes. “Guess Colm didn’t take kindly to someone betraying him...” she looked over to the lot of them.

“We need to get this place cleaned up. Mr.Pearson, Ms. Grimshaw—“ Hosea yelled out.

“Already taking care of it!” She yelled back. Charles and Reverend Swanson took away Kieran’s body.

“Colm O’Driscoll...” Dutch shook his head.

“That man can really hate.” Arthur looked over to Dutch and then over to Rose.

“So can I, Arthur...so can I.” He looked over at Rose, “We need to get moving. Away from here—“

“So we should start looking for another camp?” Arthur asked, almost annoyed at the thought.

“You ain’t thinking big enough, Arthur. You ain’t seeing the vastness of our problems and our opportunities.”

Rose chuckled for a moment, “And what the hell are ya on ‘bout, Dutch?”

“You’ll see, m’dear—“ he smirked, that look of lust and desire still hadn’t faded, “Both of you, meet me near the trolley station. We got work.” Dutch said as he walked away from them.

Arthur turned to John, “shall we?” and walked over to pick up one of the dead bodies. Rose watched as Dutch walked away, he turned for a moment to look at her before disappearing off camp grounds.

Hosea came over to Rose and looked at her arm for a moment, “You alright, m’dear?”

She looked around at the mess, “I ain’t dead. Not yet anyway...” her eyes went over to his, he was such a sweet man. No matter what his past, she’d trust him with her life over Dutch any day, “Would ya come with me into Saint Denis? I—“ she paused for a moment, “I need to do a few things. Also fancy a chat with ya...”

He nodded his head, “ ‘Course m’dear. Get that arm cleaned up and we’ll go when you’re ready.”

“Thank ya, Hosea.” She smiled softly and went off to find Ms.Grimshaw.

 

About an hour or so later, they left for Saint Denis, trotting along the road towards the city, “What is it you need to do in the city?”

“Angelo Bronte has asked to see me...Considern’ that I owe the fucker—I can’t exactly say no.”

Hosea nodded his head, “What you need me for then?”

“Just need ya there. God knows what he’ll ask of me. I trust ya, Hosea. I need ya with me on this.” She turned her head to look at him, “And...I’m worried ‘bout Dutch.”

“How so?”

She sighed, “I don’t know how to explain it. I guess...got a real bad feelin’ when it comes to him.” her fingers gripped tightly onto the reins, “bet I sound crazy, don’t I?”

He smiled softly, “No Rose. I can understand. I worry ‘bout everyone, want to make sure ya’ll are gonna be okay before I...leave this world.”

“Now don’t ya talk like that, Hosea.” The thought bothered her, he was old and eventually would leave this world. But she didn’t want to think about that, what would happen after he’d be gone from her life. There was a great sadness there, “I love ya, so don’t ya go thinkin’ that shit cause—“ cause it would break her heart, “Cause ya ain’t dead.”

“And I love you. Almost wish I could have settled down and had a family with Bessie but...You and Agatha were pretty good as daughters.” He laughed for a moment, “For 5 years, it was the best and now, well...you’re all grown up.”

Rose could see the town in the distance, “Grown up and fallin’ apart. But, we can chat some more later. Needin’ to get this shit done and out of the way.” They galloped into the Saint Denis and headed over towards Bronte’s place. She climbed down from her horse when they got there and looked up at Hosea.

“Need me in there?”

Rose looked over to the gates, “Yeah, c’mon.” He hopped down and walked with Rose over to the gates, the man looked at Hosea, giving him a suspicious look and then looked back to Rose.

“I’m here to see Mr.Bronte.”

“He said to come alone, Ms.Reeds.” He looked over to Hosea.

She smiled, shaking her head, “C’mere—“ she whispered and grabbed onto the guys shirt, pulling him hard against the metal gate, “Now, I’d mighty appreciate ya lettin’ the both of us in. Ain’t got the time for this and I know that Mr.Bronte doesn’t like to waste time.” She watched the guys eyes, “Are ya  wastin’ his time, boy?”

“Fine, then you both can come in.” He gritted through his teeth.

“Mighty fine gentleman ya are.” She let go of his shirt and pulled away from the gates as the man opened them, letting them both through.

“Was that wise, Rose?”

“Naw, it ain’t. I don’t got time for this shit though.” She looked over to Hosea, “maybe I’m the one losin’ it, Hosea.”

He lightly touched her shoulder, “It’ll be okay, Rose.”

“Somehow—“ they walked up the stairs and through the doors, “I don’t think it will be.” She turned the corner seeing Angelo sat on the couch, with a drink in his hand.

“Mia cara!” he smirked and looked over to Hosea, “Roughing up my boys? See, this is someone who can get things done. Isn’t that right, Mia cara?”

“Indeed.” She stood, not really wanting to sit down on the couch, “What is it ya have called m’for?”

Angelo looked over to Hosea and stood up from the couch, “Mia cara, this is why I had preferred you come alone—but since you are not willing to listen to rules or reason. I will feel no shame in asking this of you—“ Rose looked at him, honestly afraid of what he was wanting to ask, he came up close to her, gauging her reaction to him, “You still have a debt with me, Mia cara. One I feel you can never pay off with these, meaningless jobs—“ His hand went up to stroke the side of her cheek, “Perhaps you’d be better off to warm my bed. I could make you feel, more than these fools could ever—“

Rose’s hand made contact with his cheek, the slap seemed to echo loudly in the small space. Hosea came over and pulled her away, his arms wrapped around her waist, “I ain’t no whore.” She gritted through her teeth.

“Do you want to die, Mia cara?” Angelo smirked, his men pointing their guns at her.

Hosea could feel her shaking in his arms, her breathing slow as she looked at Angelo, “Then shoot me, ya goddamn coward.”

Angelo watched her eyes, seeing the anger seething through them; he pulled back and sat back down on the couch. His laughter erupted throughout her ears, “Oh Mia cara. I do not kill anything that is of value to me. You have your uses, and would be no use to me dead.” He grinned, “Possibly after, I could grant your request.”

Hosea pulled back on her, not impressed with either of them, “We will be leaving, Mr.Bronte. C’mon Rose...” He began to pull her away, Angelo talking as they left.

“Should you want a real man, Mia cara. Don’t hesitate to visit me.” Hosea pulled Rose out of the house, pushing past everyone and through the gates.

Rose pulled away from him, “Hosea—“

“I know you tend to have a temper on ya, but you can’t do that, Rose. Please don’t waste your life, you’re young with so much more time.” She watched his eyes, there was so much wisdom and truth in them. How he acquired it all...probably wasn’t the way he wanted it. But that statement, that she had so much more time, “I ain’t gonna watch you die, before I leave this world.”

Rose nodded her head slowly, looking at him. Her hands reached out as she hugged him tightly, pressing her lips against his cheek, “I’m sorry, Hosea. You’re right.” He hugged her back, smiling softly.

“I better head back to camp. Are you coming with?”

Rose pulled away slightly, “I think I’ll stay here. Pretty sure Dutch wanted us to meet up with him.” Hosea pulled away from her and climbed up on his horse, “I love ya, old man.”

“I’ll see you soon, m’dear.” He smiled looking down at her before he trotted down the street and out of sight. She climbed up on her horse and trotted through the streets, wondering where the hell Dutch was and finally found him hiding out between some buildings. She hitched her horse and hopped off, walking through the archway and down a set of stairs in the alleyway. She saw Dutch leaning against the wall, just him and walked over.

“Here I was thinkin’ Arthur would have made it here before me.” She smirked and leaned against the wall, pulling out a smoke and lighting it up.

“Still waiting on him.” He looked over at her.

“Convinced he doesn’t love me? Or are ya finally off that train?”

Dutch rested his hand on the other side her, almost pinning her between him and the wall, “There’s always time, m’dear. Always time.”

“Naw, Dutch.” Her eyes trailed along his eyes, before down to the opening of his shirt, “There ain’t.” He moved his hand from the wall and ran it lightly along her cheek, her eyes going back up to his.

He smirked, “Now I can see you, Ms.Reeds. All of you.” He bent down slightly, his lips a few inches from hers, “this ain’t ever ending.”

“Don’t—Dutch—“ she whispered out, turning her head away slightly. His lips pressing tenderly against her cheek, which were now red and warm.

He laughed deep in his throat, “You know where to find me, Rose. Should you want me and I know...that you will.” He pulled away, leaving her to fluster in her own feelings of both arousal and anger.

“Well ain’t that a lie. It ain’t never been that, it’s always been you findin’ me...” her eyes edged at him, “He loves me, ya know.”

Dutch smiled, “How touching. So do I. Ain’t much difference, since I know you’ll come back to me. In the end.” She did love him, again, not in the way that he wanted but, there was always something about caring for someone in her line of work that, normally didn’t work out that well. At least when it came to certain people...

“How selfish—“ she went to speak, but he cupped the side of her face, pulling her ear close to his lips. She could feel the heat from his breath as he spoke against her ear.

“Selfish? Says the woman who loves one guy and fucks the other—“ he smirked, keeping her there, “It’s out of love that I do this, Rose—I was your first—“ he pressed his lips softly against her jaw line, “I will always be your first—“ her eyes shut tightly trying to ignore the feelings that were bubbling up within her.

“Please, Dutch—“

“Don’t you remember, Rose?” he pulled away to look at her, his eyes clouded with lust, “ ‘Cause I do.”

Rose pulled herself away from him, giving some space between the two of them, “That don’t change nothin’, Dutch. Things are different, we’re changin’...everythin’ is gettin’ worse. I know ya don’t see that cause you’re so damn blind—“

Arthur finally came down the stairs, looking between the two of them. Dutch put on a smile and looked over to him, “There you are. Come on keep walking, you’re late—“

They all began to walk through the alleyway, Arthur looking over at Rose as they went, feeling some concern for her. She did have the chance to talk to Arthur about everything...about Dutch and what the hell was going on. He knew, he knew the truth...for the most part. But it only seemed to spur on his anger when Dutch came close to her.

“A couple of days in this place, you’ve turned into some clock watching city boy. What’s the urgency?” Arthur asked.

“We need to leave, forever.” He placed his hand on Arthur’s chest, “We’ve been doing well, making money but for us all to leave together...we need enough for a boat. Now I found a friendly ship captain—“

Rose laughed, “Of course ya did.”

 Dutch looked over to her, “he’s willing to take us to Australia or Tahiti. We just need to pay for passage and give him money for land when we get there. No questions asked. We will disappear. Be reborn.”

“Well, where the hell is Tahiti?” Arthur looked really confused.

“Aw darlin’ it’s—somewhere far out in the ocean. Heard it’s real nice though.”

Dutch shook his head, “It’s in the South Pacific. An untouched paradise.”

“Who lives there?”

“Tahitians, I guess.” Dutch went out from the alleyway as Arthur and Rose followed suit.

“We made a bit of money on that riverboat job, but not enough for us to leave and live peacefully—“ They stopped behind a wagon, “where’s the rest coming from?”

“In there—“ Dutch pointed over to the trolley station.

Rose peeked her head out, “Naw, ya can’t be serious, Dutch. Just cause Mr.Bronte said so?”

“So we are gonna rob that place?” Arthur looked over to Dutch.

“Well, I didn’t think we was fixing the plumbing.” They all came out from behind the wagon, “I don’t know if you have noticed, but we are on the clock. I reckon we got a few days before the Pinkertons show and then, well, we’re done. Now, we need money.” Rose nodded her head, they did need more money, they ALWAYS needed more... Arthur didn’t look all that convinced about anything at this point.

“We need the money, is there any in there?” Rose asked.

“Bronte said this place has got money.” Rose grabbed onto the black bandana (it was Arthur’s) and pulled it up around her face. Dutch pulled out his gun, “Come on—“ and kicked the door in as Rose came in after, pointing her gun. There were a few people inside, not a lot, “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a robbery...behave as I tell you and none of you will die. Annoy me and you all will.” Rose walked over to a few of the people, her gun pointed at them, “Now, remember, we just want the money. Don’t make us kill you.” Arthur walked over to some people huddled on the ground, “Mr.M relieve these fine folks of their valuables, Ms.R, check that room back there.” Rose hurried over to the back room, checking high and low, only to find...well, nothing.

“There ain’t nothin’ here!” she checked once over, still finding nothin’ and suddenly she wasn’t feeling all that damn good about being there, “there’s nothing really here!” she yelled out.

“You’re sure?” Dutch asked.

“Course I’m sure! I ain’t blind!”

Dutch rolled his eyes at the comment, “Then get out here and get ready for company. All of you, behave! We don’t wanna hurt any of you.”

Rose came out of the back room and kept her pistol close and at the ready, looking out the window each chance she got. Why Dutch would trust anything Mr.Bronte had to say was beyond her. Arthur went into the room as the man opened the door, “Mr.M check the safe.”

“Open the safe—“ Arthur  gritted through his teeth.

“I don’t think they keep much cash in there—“ the man said through a shaky voice.

“Open it!” Arthur pushed the man out of the way as the safe opened and looked through the whole damn thing, “There’s almost nothing here!”

Dutch leaned in and looked at Arthur, “there should be stacks of cash in there...he told us there was...look again.”

“There’s no stacks...a few dollars and coins, that’s it.”

“We got a problem!” Rose yelled out, seeing the law making its way down the streets, “There’s a shit ton of cops out there.”

“Come out now! We got you surrounded!”

Dutch was livid, “That greasy son of a bitch—he set us up!“

“I said come out now!” the cop yelled out.

Rose and Arthur looked over to Dutch as they both spoke, “Ya think?”

He glared his eyes at the both of them, “This seem like a good time for sarcasm to you both?”

Rose looked out the windows, “What’s the plan, smart ass?”

“Enough, do something—“ he looked out the window, seeing the trolley making its way near the station, “The trolley—the trolley! Follow me—“ he yelled out as they booked it out of the station doors and onto the trolley, Dutch grabbed onto the driver and threw him off, “Go—now!”

“Does this trolley go to Tahiti?” Arthur asked in annoyance.

“I hope so!” Dutch yelled.

Rose peeked out, seeing the law making its way near and around them. She pulled out her gun, shooting down anyone she could, “Dammit, Dutch!” she yelled out, trying to shoot with her bad arm and it hurt like fucking hell.

“Watch those side alleys, Arthur!”

“Got some on the balconies too!” Rose aimed her gun, shooting a few of the cops along the street. Some of their bullets hit off the metal in the trolley.

“That bastard must have called every cop in the city.”

“Riders on the left, boys!” She kept low, peeking her head up and shooting quickly, before reloading, “Good job, Dutch—“

“Ain’t the time for bitching, Rose!” Dutch leaned out, shooting a few men with Arthur on the other side, shooting as well. Rose hissed out in pain, the wound in her arm throbbing, “You alright there, m’dear?” Dutch asked, his demeanour changing, hearing her in pain.  

“I’m fine!” she yelled out, shooting as she could.

“Bronte is gonna pay for this!” Dutch yelled out and shot his gun off, “outside the saloon! Aw man...we are really moving here—“ the trolley seemed to be moving at a fast pace, maybe a little to fast, “Arthur, slow us down! Slow this thing down!”

Arthur ran up to the front and tried the brakes, however...“The thing’s broke—“ he went to the back and held onto the metal bars, “Hold on!” he yelled out. Rose gripped tightly onto the seat in front of her as the entire trolley crashed and flipped onto its side. Rose cried out, her body hitting hard against the side as it crashed. Dutch was in front of her, groaning in pain.

“Dutch—“ she spoke out, trying to get up and out, “C’mon—“ she grabbed onto him, helping him out of the trolley and onto the street.

“You okay there, Dutch?” Arthur asked.

“He’s fine—“ Rose answered, trying to get Dutch behind some cover.

“Rose—go right of me!”

She moved quickly behind some cover and peeked out, “They’re on the balcony! To my right!” her hand was shaking but pushed through and came out, shooting as many as she could. Dutch looked pretty banged up.

Dutch looked and saw an opening for them, “C’mon—let’ move!”

“This way—“ Rose yelled out and ran through the street and over to an alleyway, “Through here, let’s go!”

“You alright, Dutch?”

“I won’t lie. I’ve been better, son.”

There were more men in the back, Arthur shooting the lot of them down, “Rose, you keep an eye on him.” 

“Of course—This way, onto the street!” She went ahead of the two of them and onto the street as a few bullets whizzed past her, “Goddamn it, they blocked the road!” She turned and headed over to Dutch, “Move your damn ass, Dutch—stay with me—“

“Yes ma’am—“

Arthur groaned loudly, shooting his gun, “First the O’Driscoll’s jump us in camp, now this...we need to wake up.”

“We’ll wake up after we get the hell out of here!” Dutch yelled out, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of them. There was truth in what Arthur had said, seemed like every damn time they had a job, something always went wrong. Dutch was so blind to trust people and information that...people had died.

Rose aimed her gun and shot it off a few times, “Let’s go—“ she yelled out and ran.

“You don’t know who you’re dealing with—“

“Shut up, Dutch! Not the time for that shit!” It seemed like it was never going to end, the onslaught of cops that seemed to be limitless. Dutch was in rough shape and Rose was trying to keep him alive, along Arthur trying to keep her alive. Each street they turned down there was more cops and eventually more bodies on the ground. Finally there seemed to be some salvation as they found a wagon on the street.

“Head for that wagon!” Dutch yelled out and ran towards it. Rose aimed her gun and shot a few cops, a few of them falling down for good.

“Get in Arthur!” she yelled out as Dutch jumped into the back and Arthur grabbed onto the side. Rose held tightly onto the reins as they tried to get out of town as quick as possible, “keep them off me, Arthur—“ she whipped the reins hard and fast, needing to get them all out of there in one piece, “Ya alright there, Dutch?”

“Took a real bang on the head back there, I’m seeing three of everything.”

“Stay down—“ Arthur said and turned around, his gun pointed out, “I’ll hold them off—“

“I’ll get us home quick—“ she breathed out, feeling some of the bullets graze past her head, at last making out to the bridge, the wagon shaking as they drove down the road. She groaned out, looking down ahead of them, “Fellers---they blocked the road!” was there no end to this!

 “Hold on—“ Dutch groaned, “use this—“ she looked behind her as he lit up a stick of dynamite and handed it to her before she whipped the damn thing as it exploded, destroying the barricade and making their way through and down the road.

“Any more of them?” she wanted to know, this was getting to damn tiring.

“Just keep going, m’dear—“

“You okay back there?” Arthur turned his head to look at Dutch.

“Don’t worry about me, just get us out of here.” They went along the road for a while, getting far away from Saint Denis as possible before stopping the wagon off somewhere secluded.

Arthur climbed on over, “You know what Dutch? Next time, let’s not damn discretion. “

“Seemed like a good lead.” He groaned.

“Well, we made it.” Dutch looked over to Rose, “Thanks to you.”

She smiled for a moment, “Naw, team work, m’friend. Teamwork. But don’t mention it.” She winked playfully and then looked over to Arthur, looking down at the money they had grabbed. He walked back over to the two of them.

“Yeah, you’re good, Rose.” He smiled to himself, “We each got...fifteen dollars.” He handed off Dutch his and her share, “Oh—and a quarter, don’t forget the quarter.” He wasn’t pleased one damn bit, then again, neither was Rose.

“Shut up, Arthur.” Dutch groaned, “He set us up.” He went and climbed down from the wagon and walked up to the front, “Played me like a yokel. Put the law on us. What did we do to him? What did I do to him?”

“Perhaps it ain’t what ya did to him. Angelo Bronte...he plays dirty, Dutch.” He looked over to her, “I learned that the hard way...”

Arthur turned to look at them, “Guess he thinks he’s the kind round here. He don’t want the likes of you. So...” Arthur walked over to Dutch and looked at him, “What’re we doing next, Dutch?”

“We just need money...” Rose shook her head at the words, it almost seemed painful to hear those words now, as it was all she ever heard from that man’s mouth, “one more decent take and we’re gone. The bank is our bet. Hosea agrees—“ Dutch climbed up into the seat up front.

“Even after that?” Rose looked over to Arthur, they had an understanding. Everything was seeming like a bad idea now a days.

“Especially after that—I don’t feel so good...”

Rose looked at Arthur, “I’ll get him back to camp.”

“Just wish it could have gone better—“ Arthur saw the look in her eyes.

“Me too, Arthur.” She sighed, “me too...” she whipped the reins as the horses started forward taking them away. Dutch seemed really out of it, “ya gonna be okay there?”

“I’m fine—“

“Ya sure don’t look fine—“ she looked over to him and he looked over to her.

“There’s three of you...”

She shook her head, “I wish there were...then maybe this wouldn’t be so damn hard.” Her eyes went back to the road, as bad as it sounded, she liked Dutch with a potential concussion. For once he almost seemed, normal. He groaned resting his head in his hands.

“Seems like everything’s a mess—“ he looked over to her, “I ain’t been fair to you.”

Her heart clenched a little at his words, “Jesus, Dutch—how hard did ya hit your head?” he leaned over and almost fell off the damn wagon. She grabbed onto his arm and quickly pulled him back as he leaned against her. She stopped the wagon.

“Ain’t been fair at all and I’m sorry.”

“Ya talkin’ nonsense, Dutch. Ya hit your damn head and now—“ she closed her eyes, “now you’s talkin’ all sorts of shit.”

He rested his head against her shoulder and breathed her in, as it if was the last thing he was ever going to do, “Rose—“

“We need to get you back—“ she whipped the reins as they began to move again, “hang on, Dutch—don’t ya dare fall asleep.”

“I won’t—“ he groaned, his eyes staying open the best they could.

“Keep talkin’ Dutch.” Her fingers gripped tightly onto the reins.

He laughed for a moment and then groaned, “About what?”

“Ya run your mouth all the damn time—gotta be somethin’ in that broken head of yours!” she didn’t know why, but, there was a sadness creeping up on her and she felt like crying.

He nodded his head, “Alright—“ he paused for a moment, “I—I wanted to marry you. Back then, though when I told you how I felt...I hadn’t expected you to disappear on me like that.”

“Can’t change the past now, Dutch.” They were almost near camp, “I’m real sorry...I didn’t mean to hurt ya. I hope ya know that...”

She heard him chuckle, “I know...” he groaned at the pain he was feeling, “God—I feel awful—“

“We’re here—“ she pulled into the camp and helped Dutch down from the wagon, “Ms.Grimshaw! I need your help!” she hurried over to Rose as they both helped Dutch upstairs and to his bed with Molly once again nowhere to be seen.

“Ya good?” Ms.Grimshaw asked her.

“Yeah, I can handle it.” She slipped off her coat and rested it on the only chair in the room and sat down on the side of the bed. She grabbed onto the basin that had been filled with water and began to clean up his face, from both dirt and blood.

He looked up at her and smiled, “Look at you.”

She laughed softly for a moment, “What? Taking care of ya? I’d done it before. Long time ago.” The water almost stung against her hands as she dipped it back into the water, “now quit ya bitchin’.”

“Do you miss her? Agatha I mean.” her eyes went over to Dutch’s, “I miss her, miss her little death threats.” He laughed and then regretted it as pain flooded his senses.

Rose smiled sadly, “Course I miss her. Little fireball she was. We only had each other. I was always protectin’ her, guess she just wanted to protect me. It was sweet of her.” she stopped for a moment, “sometimes; I wish...Colm had shot me ‘stead of her.”

Dutch nodded his head looking up at her, “I wasn’t gonna let anything happen to either of you.” Her eyes went down to his. This was the old Dutch and it broke her to see that, “Then again, getting shot in the groin didn’t seem like a fun idea.”

She laughed, feeling the tears surface, “I thinkin’ she didn’t want to kill ya...just wanted to make a point.” She ringed out the cloth and finished up what she was doing. She sat there with him in silence for a few minutes, the warmth of his hand on hers bringing her attention back to reality.

“I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you, Rose.”

“It’s like you’re back. Took hitting your damn head but...I know it won’t be for long.” She looked down at his hand, “so it’s best, to say what I need to, before ya lose your senses again...”

He lifted his hand up and cupped the side of her face, feeling her skin burn beneath his palm, “I never left, Rose. I’ve always been here.”

She nodded her head, breathing slowly, “You’re changin’, Dutch. I ain’t never been more worried in m’life than I am now. I love ya, so much and it was never the love ya wanted, but it was there. It was always there...even after--“ she stopped not wanting to say it, not wanting to say the lie that she had created. “I thought I could have freedom, be happy. Have all those things other people get to have and even I couldn’t have ‘em... I wanted Agatha too.” Rose stood up from the bed turning away from him, “I couldn’t even give her that.  _Freedom_.”

“Rose.” Dutch groaned in pain.

“Best let ya rest...” She turned and went to grab her jacket.

“Rose, please stay—“ Dutch went to move from the bed, but Rose came back over, trying to keep him there.

“Get your ass back in bed—“

His hands grabbed onto her arms, holding her close, “you don’t need to be in bed with me, but—please...please stay with me.”

She nodded her head, “Fine—“ she pulled away and left the room for a moment, grabbing a book she had found earlier, “I’m reading this to ya. Always got your nose in a book anyways—“ she sat down on the ground beside the bed, “Figured I’ll do the reading.”

Dutch smiled, “I taught you well, did I?”

“Ya did.” She smiled softly, “Let’s see—The Ballad of Reading Gaol...by Oscar Wilde.” Her eyes went over the words as she turned to the first page, feeling a bit shy at first, but then started, “He did not wear his scarlet coat, for blood and wine are red. And blood and wine were on his hands. When they found him with the dead, the poor dead woman whom he loved and murdered in her bed...” Dutch moved close to her, still lying on the bed, his head looking down at the book. Should she turn her head, she would be greeted with closeness. “He walked amongst the Trial Men, in a suit of shabby gray; a cricket cap was on his head, and his step seemed light and gay; but I never saw a man who looked, so wistfully at the day.”

“Keep going—“ he whispered against her ear.

Her cheeks dusted a red color, “I—I never saw a man who looked with such a wistful eye. Upon that little tent of blue, which prisoners call the sky, and at every drifting cloud that went with sails of silver by...I walked, with other souls in pain, within another ring, and was wondering if the man had done a great or little thing. When a voice behind me whispered low—“

“ _That fellow’s got to swing._ ” He whispered against her ear again, she turned her head and he was close, so goddamn close.

“Ya ain’t gonna play nice. I’m leavin’—“ her eyes watched his, his hand grazing the side of her face.

He smirked, though still dazed and hurting, “Don’t ya feel that?”

“Ya mean the immense annoyance? Yeah Dutch, I feel that.” As if she’d admit that it was turning her on...guilt suddenly followed after the thought.

Dutch laid back on the bed and laughed, “Alright—I’m sorry. But I want you. That ain’t ever changed.”

She moved from the floor and sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down at him, “I know, Dutch. Gonna have to though...”

“It won’t...just like you won’t.” A never ending battle, “I’m always here, Rose. Just want you to remember that, when you feel like you have nothing else. There’s good ol’ Dutch.”

She shook her head, smiling sadly, “You won’t always love me, Dutch.”

He pressed his fingers to her lips, trying to quiet her, “Ain’t your call, m’dear—“

“Go the fuck to sleep. I’ll stay here. Make sure ya don’t die, ya horny bugger...”

He laughed and groaned, “Only for you—“ she pulled up the chair and rested her feet against the bed, looking down at the book as she continued to read. It changed into the night as the daylight faded and Dutch had fallen asleep, leaving her alone in silence as she stared out the windows. She placed the book down, finally deciding to leave; she walked over to the bed side and bent down, kissing him softly on the forehead.

“It’s best for the both of us, that ya let me go, Dutch. No matter how much I ---” She whispered, looking at how peaceful he looked as he slept, “No matter how much I wanna tell ya that ya had a son--” she chuckled softly, “Son of a bitch, looks just like ya...” Rose pulled away from the bed and stopped at the door, looking back at him one more time before she shut the door behind her and headed over to Arthur’s room, waiting for him to return home.

She felt like she sat there for hours, smoking her cigarettes like she bought them by the pound. Dutch was never going to know that she had the baby. That she had lied to him, only cause she was worried about the boy, even afraid of what Dutch might do if he got a hold of him. Maybe one day she would tell him, but today, was not that day. Finally the heavy footsteps of Arthur’s boots made their way up the stairs and to his room. He smiled seeing Rose there, till he saw the expression on her face, “Who stepped all over your grave.”

She laughed softly, “Bunch of idiots...” her eyes went up to his, inhaling the cigarette in her hand, “You’d be surprised...”

“Probably so.” He walked over to the bed and looked down at her, “What’s going on with you?”

“Sit—I’d like to tell ya a story, Arthur. It’s long, and it’s ‘bout time ya knew the truth.”

It almost felt like Mary all over again, he wasn’t sure he wanted to sit, “I don’t know—been down this road before—“

“Wha—“ she shook her head at him, “Ya fool, I ain’t leavin’ ya...I love ya, now sit your ass down.” He shook his head, a little reluctant to do so, but sat down beside her and looked over at her.

“What’s this ‘bout then?”

She finished her smoke and immediately grabbed onto another one, she really was starting to run out of them, “I told ya ‘bout me and Dutch, back in the day.”

“You did, yeah—what ‘bout it?”

“I had gotten pregnant.”

Arthur nodded his head, “You said ya...” he sighed, “--lost the baby.”

“See the funny thing is...” She took a deep breath, “...I didn’t.”

He looked over at her, “You’d been lyin’, this whole time?”

“After Agatha and I got attacked. I was sure I wasn’t gonna make it. But I did. We stayed with a family, very nice people. They’d been wantin’ a child for some time and couldn’t have one of their own, so it seemed...” her voice was soft and sad as she spoke, “I—I couldn’t let that little one be subjected to this life. Wanted better for him, ain’t no crime in that.” Her eyes went down to the smoke shaking in her hand, “It was a boy and after I took some time to recover...Agatha and I left.” She smiled sadly, “he’ll be twelve this year...” she pulled out a photo from her jacket and handed it to Arthur.

“When did you get this?” he looked down at it.

“Couple of years ago...The boy knows of me, but not that I am his mother. Can’t be fit to be called that when I ain’t been in his life...” her eyes closed for a moment, “I love him, that’s why he’s there and not here.”

Arthur sighed, “Don’t you think he has a right to know?”

She reached her hand over and grabbed onto his, “Right? Sure. But the boy is happy, he’s with good people.”

“Rose.”

“I don’t want this life for Noah...he’s the only good left of me and of Dutch. Out here...I don’t wanna imagine what would happen to him. Even if he’s strong like his mother and stubborn like his father...fuck, that’ll get him killed. When I die, I can be content knowing that boy is safe, loved.”

Arthur nodded his head, he had never seen her so afraid, “I can understand that, Rose...”

“Thank ya for listenin’...” She smiled sadly and stood up from the bed as she went to walk away, Arthur stood up and grabbed onto her, stopping her.

“Don’t go—“ his voice rasped out.

“Gonna make me stay?” she turned around and winked playfully.

The idea thrilled him as he pulled her tight against his chest as he looked down at her, “How can you do that?”

She looked confused, “Do what?”

“Go from being so goddamn depressing to like—nothing ever happened, Rose.”

“Arthur, there’s been enough sorrow in m’goddamn life. I’m tired. I am the bitch, the hard-ass, ya need me in a fight, I’m there. I ain’t this woman—“ she grabbed the picture from the bed and held it up, “I ain’t a mother—I gave up that right long ago—“ the tears welled up in her eyes as they fell, “I need to be strong, that’s who I have to be, Arthur. That’s who I ALWAYS have to be.” She shoved him out of anger and sadness, but he looked at her with understanding eyes, never the less... “Well go on—are ya gonna be a man and fuck me—or are ya gonna useless—“

He grabbed onto her roughly and shoved her hard against the wall, both pain and pleasure surged through her, “This what you want?” he yelled back at her, his breathing ragged along with hers.

A smirked played along her lips, there was that beast she wanted, “Yes—this is what I fuckin’ want—“ he pulled her away from the wall and shoved her onto the bed as she bounced onto it and looked up at him. He was breathing hard looking down at her, but she could see his arousal straining against his jeans.

“Get up—“ his voice was firm and demanding, “and turn ‘round—“ She got off the bed and turned around. His fingers went up to the bandana and untied it from around her neck before grabbing both her arms and placing them behind her back, tying her wrists together. He hummed deep in his throat, pressing his front against her, his hands slipping to the front and unbuttoning her shirt, “This what you want—“ his voice hissed in her ear, “Tell me—“

“Yes—“ the heat of his hands were searing as he touched her breasts, squeezing them hard. Her moans seemed louder with each touch.

“Yes—what?” he nipped her neck hard, his facial hard burning against her skin as he did.

“T—this is what I want—“ she cried out as his hands moved down to her belt and started unbuckling it.

His breathing was hard and hot against her skin, “Good—“ he slid down her pants and undergarments, letting her step out of them. His eyes grazed along her bare ass and legs, “Get on the bed—on your knees.”

She moved over to the bed and climbed onto the bed, her backside to him. She felt exposed, humiliated...and for some reason it drove her mad with lust and desire for him.

“Face me—now—“ he sounded angry, his voice deep each time he spoke. Slowly she turned around to face him, the only thing left on was her blouse and it was open, exposing her breasts. As his eyes traveled down he could see between her legs and the little curls of hair above her cunt. He smirked and slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Her breathing slow as she watched him, her eyes traveling along his body as he exposed himself, “Look at me--Keep your damn eyes on mine.”

“Yes sir—“ her hips swivelled, feeling the ache between her legs. How much she wanted him, how much she fucking needed him right now.

He slipped off his shirt letting it pool to the floor, exposing his muscles, firm and fit. He wasn’t a man of small stature. Slowly his hands went down to his belt, unbuckling as he walked close to her, “Tell me what you want.”

“I want ya, Arthur.” She licked her dry lips, keeping her eyes on his, “I want ya to fuck me raw—“

He groaned at the response, his cock twitching against his pants. Slowly he pushed down his pants and underwear, leaving him more naked than she. Her eyes left his and went down to his throbbing length. Arthur grabbed onto his cock and slowly stroked himself, “turn ‘round—“ he breathed out. Her cheeks were so warm and red, her lips tender, he wanted nothing more than to fuck her mouth. She turned around, once again facing the wall, the felt the pressure of the bed go down as he moved in behind her, his hands ran along her sides, humming as his one hand slipped down between her legs, “Oh my—“ he breathed out.

“Ah—fuck—“ she whimpered out. His fingers glided along her slick cunt, her juices soaking his fingers.

“You like this?” He whispered against her ear, “Being tied up and fucked raw. That’s what gets ya off? Gets you soakin’ for me--?”

“A—Arthur—“ her hips moved, wanting more of something from him.

He bit her neck, hard, but not enough to break the skin. Her moans and cries of pleasures were making it hard for him to continue this torture. On both her and himself, finally he slid two fingers in her, feeling how soaked she was. He moaned at the feeling and pumped his fingers in and out of her, his arousal painfully hard against the curve of her ass.

“I—I’ll cum if ya—“

“Cum—“ His groans echoed against her ears, “Let m’feel you—“ his other arm wrapped around and placed his hand on her throat as he held her close, “all of you—“ Her hips squirmed beneath his touch, feeling the pleasure build up and up, till a heat spread down through her legs. Her moans were loud in the small room, though with the broken windows...she was sure the whole camp heard her. He pulled his fingers out quickly, “Arch your back—“ he frantically spoke. Her moans and whimpers amplified as he shoved his cock deep inside her sopping hole. He pulled her tight against him, thrusting upwards, she felt hot and tight around him, searing and wet as he moved against her. He wasn’t sure how long he’d be lasting from their teasing.

“A-arthur—ah fuck—“ she cried out and arched her head back. There was a pain building up in her bones, but she ignored it. This felt too good, how hard he was, the sounds of his groans and grunts as he fucked her, nothing could stop this. “So—close—“

He chuckled and ran his tongue lightly along her earlobe, “Mmm... this what I do to you? Tell me what ya want—“

“Your cum—“ she moaned, writhing under his touch, “I—I want ya to—cum—“ she was nearing her climax, but she needed him, all of him.

“Good—“ he rasped, fucking her hard. The sound of skin on skin echoed in the small space between them. His hand reached down and pulled at the bandana, freeing her wrists as she feel forward, arching more into him, “Fuck—“ he gritted out. Her moans turned into screams as she tried to muffle them against the pillow.

“I—I’m—“ Her wall pulsed and tightened around his length as she came once more.

He couldn’t hold it any longer, feeling her tighten around him, “You want it—“

“Yes!” she yelled out, “Arthur—Fuck!”

His grunting turned into a yell as thrust hard into her a few more times, his cock spurting hot spouts of cum as he filled her. He looked down at her and ran his hands along her ass before smacking it, eliciting another noise from her. “Jesus—“ he groaned and pulled out from her, letting her lay down on her side, her heart rate was fast and hard in her chest. If she’d die now, she wouldn’t complain. Arthur came down beside her, looking at her, “I love you, Rose.”

Finally she smiled, “I love ya too, dirty bugger.”

He laughed softly and pulled her close, pressing his lips deeply against hers, resting with her as they both calmed down, “you’re loud—“

“Ya, I know. Wouldn’t be surprised if half the camp heard that.” She chuckled, hiding her face against the crook of his neck and not soon long after, sleep took her.

 

A few days later, Dutch had healed completely, leaving Rose once again to wallow in the uncertainty of how she’d escape this goddamn game of his. But it was also that same day that Dutch said he had to have a little chat with her and Arthur and to Rose, well, she didn’t feel all that good about it.

She walked over to Dutch, seeing him stood out on the balcony as he looked down at the camp grounds, with Hosea sitting in the chair near him, “Glad to see you’re up and ‘bout.”

He turned his head to look at her and smiled, “Wasn’t sure I’d even be getting up.”

She looked over to Hosea, “Good mornin’ old man.” She walked over and stood beside him.

“See you’re sticking with that nickname.” He looked up at her.

“Ya love it. Ya just won’t admit it.”

Hosea smiled and shook his head. Dutch called down as he saw Arthur, “Arthur, come up here.”

He hurried up the stairs and came out onto the balcony as Hosea asked, “So, Arthur, you get the deciding vote.”

“ ‘Bout what?”

“We take an insult and scurry off like cockroaches or deal with business the right way.” So this is what he wanted to talk to them about, not the bank...at least not yet.

“We don’t need to take revenge.” Hosea looked over to Dutch, “We hardly know the guy.”

Dutch turned to him, “This ain’t about revenge, Hosea. Angelo Bronte don’t mean shit to me. This is about the fact that we are planning to rob a bank in his town. A bank that he no doubt protects, a town where men are gunning for us.”

Rose shook her head, “Do ya hear yourself, Dutch? Do ya hear the words?” she laughed, “Honestly, this don’t seem like a good idea.”

“You’re just as bad as Arthur.” Dutch seethed through his teeth.

“Oh, forgive me for wantin’ to make sure ya don’t lot of us killed!”

Dutch looked between the three of them, “Before we do ANYTHING, we need to put him out of commission.”

Hosea shook his head, “I disagree. There’s always an easier way.”

“There ain’t no easier way! Now I know his type.”

“I bet ya do, Dutch. We can find another way. So why not try?”

Dutch walked over to her, close enough to make Arthur want to step in, “Cause he’s a vindictive little power broker who rules by fear.” Rose turned her head over to Hosea, who wasn’t looking all too pleased about anything they were talking about, “Now, we pull that stunt in his cess pit of a town, we’re doomed.” He looked at the three of them, “You wanna leave this place? Leave this country? We need that money.”

“It just don’t feel good, Dutch.”

Rose sighed, but agreed, “Sorry, Dutch. But I’m with Hosea on this. None of this feels good.”

Dutch smirked, though it wasn’t pleasant, “Then what feels good, Rose—“

“Don’t ya fuckin’ start with me—“ Arthur came over and pulled her away.

“That’s enough!” Arthur looked over to Dutch.

“This is it.” Dutch said calmly, “This is the last job that we are ever gonna pull. Before the year is out, we are gonna be harvesting mangoes in Tahiti.”

Hosea groaned and Rose rested her hand on his shoulder. She always trusted Hosea’s judgement, she smiled softly down at him, “S’okay—“

“But we need seed capital and we need to leave. You know it. I know it.”

“Forgive me if I can’t think too much about the mango harvest, I’m—“ Hosea stood up, Rose catching onto that last word and suddenly dread came over her once again.

“This is it...Trust me.” Dutch turned, “Arthur...”

Hosea went to reach out to Arthur as he spoke, “If it’s business, well...business is business...” He looked so disappointed, so distraught and it broke Rose’s heart. Hosea meant well, he wanted folk to be okay, to be safe. She was starting to wonder...if his time was dwindling fast.

“Apparently so...” Rose whispered, not wanting to acknowledge Dutch or Arthur.

Dutch turned to Hosea, “Angelo Bronte stands between us and our future.”

Hosea looked at him with such hardened eyes, “You’ll damn us all...”

“Arthur...come on.” Dutch stopped and looked over to Rose, “We’ll be up near Lagras—“

“Give me few...” she looked over to Hosea.

“5 minutes and then we’re gone—with or without you.” Dutch was pissed, probably cause of what Hosea said.

“You better be right about this one...” Arthur looked back at Rose for a moment before following Dutch.

She turned to look at Hosea, feeling the sadness she knew was coming. Her eyes looking up at his, “You’re sick...ain’t ya?”

Hosea reached his hands out and pulled her in, hugging her tightly. Though he didn’t say anything in response to her question.  

“Hosea—“

He looked down at her, “I love you, Rose. Most beautiful daughter I’ve ever had. Now go.”

Rose stood there not wanting to move, not really wanting to do anything, “Hosea—I wish you’d told me sooner...”

“Would have done ya no good to know, m’dear...” he smiled looking at her, “Don’t waste your tears on me.”

“It ain’t ever gonna be a waste. Not ever, old man...”  He reached out wiping away the tears, she was trying to keep a strong front, but, it never seemed to work that way.

“Don’t let him damn us all, Rose. Only you can reason with him now...”

Her eyes shut tightly, “No, Hosea...even I think I can’t reach him no more.”

He pressed his lips against the top of her head, he looked so worried, so scared and it didn’t help with her feelings at all, “Go on now, I’ll see you soon.”

Rose nodded her head and turned away from him, wiping any remaining tears as she made her way down the steps, through and out the house. She looked back up at the balcony where Hosea stood looking down, after a few moments and Dutch yelling at her...she finally pulled away and went over to her horse, climbing up and trotting away with Arthur and Dutch down to the road.

“Goddamn impatient man, ya know that?” she snipped at him.

“We have things to do, m’dear. C’mon—we need to go see a man about a boat... “

“A boat?” Arthur asked.

“We’re headed to a settlement called Lagras. I met a boatman there called Thomas, who knows these waters like the back of his hand.”

Rose looked over to Dutch, “And pray-tell, what we be needin’ a boat for?”

“So we can attack Bronte’s mansion from the swamp, catch him off guard. He knows we survived the trolley station, so he’ll be expecting some kind of reprisal.”

“Ah, right. Okay, makes sense.”

“See, I do still possess some capacity for rational thought, Arthur.”

Rose laughed at the comment, “Okay there, Mr. Van Der Linde. Why can’t there be another way? Why don’t ya let me deal with Bronte?”

Dutch laughed, vindictively, “What you gonna do, Rose? Spread your legs for him?” for her it felt like Dutch was getting worse with each passing day. Or maybe it was him hitting his head, she didn’t fucking know. Out of anger, she galloped right past him, “Where the hell are you going?“ he yelled out.

“Away from ya, Dutch—“ she yelled back and slowly her horse disappeared into the distance, leaving Dutch and Arthur far behind her. The swamp lands were always a joy to be in. She remembered as her and Agatha had gone there for their little fishing trip here.  “Ya prick...” she whispered to herself, she shouldn’t let the things he said bother her but...they did. Her thoughts were interrupted as her horse abruptly stopped and sent her flying into the mud. She groaned pushing herself up, “Ain’t, this, grand...”she sighed sadly and sat down, not really wanting to move. Lily trotted over to her, nudging her head against Rose’s.

“What is with you and mud?”

She shook her head, feeling angry, “I don’t know, Dutch. What’s with ya and being a goddamn prick towards me?” she looked over, “Where the hell is Arthur?”

“The settlement isn’t that far, he’s waiting for me. Figured you’d be there with the speed you went at.” He climbed down off his horse, “Apparently, I was wrong.”

“Something spooked Lily.”

He walked over to her and extended out his hand as she looked up at him, “Want to stay here all day?”

“Thought ya liked me all dirty, Dutch.” he smirked at her words. But no, she didn’t want to stay there all day and grabbed onto his hand as he pulled her up. Her eyes watching his, he reached out wiping away some of the mud from her face.

_“Don’t let him damn us all, Rose. Only you can reason with him now...”_

She had to try, “Dutch—“ she breathed out, looking at him and searching for any sign of life in him, of humanity in him, “don’t do this...Bronte—he ain’t worth the time.”

“Don’t you start, Rose.“ Dutch edged his eyes as he looked at her, “I need you with me on this.”

“This is dangerous, Dutch. I don’t want people to lose their lives cause of this shit. ‘Cause ya want revenge—“

“It ain’t about revenge, Bronte needs to be out of the way for us to get the hell outta here.” he yelled at her. His hands cupped her face, “I need you to trust me, Rose.” The pads of his thumbs ran along her cheek bones, “Trust that I ain’t gonna let anything happen to you...” 

Her heart pounded hard and fast in her chest, fear looming deep within her, “Dutch—that ain’t what I meant—“ her eyes closed, “Please—I need ya to listen to me for once in your goddamn life—“

“And what m’dear, will happen if I listen to you?” he moved close to her, pressing his body lightly against hers as his eyes burned into hers.

“Dutch—I don’t know. But it won’t damn us all—“

He smirked, his lips brushing lightly against hers, “Then why don’t you convince me?”

“S’cuse me?” she went to pull away, but his grip wouldn’t budge.

His lips lightly and teasingly brushed along her skin, “You don’t know the fear of loving someone like you, Rose.” He chuckled softly against her ear, “How much—I  _love_ you--“

She pushed him away and slapped him hard across the face, watching him with frightened eyes, “This isn’t love, Dutch! You’re so goddamn blind!” Her breathing was hard and ragged, “I can’t—I can’t do this.”

As she went to walk away, Dutch grabbed onto her roughly, his arm tight around her waist as his other hand cupped the back of her head, holding her in place. His eyes ran over hers, she was angry and upset, “You say you love me.” For a moment it defused the look in her eyes, “Do you?”

She pulled away from him, not saying a word. Sure, she loved him... But she couldn’t bear to bring herself to say anything. He had hurt her enough and she wanted to hurt him back. One day she’d mention the child,  _their_ child, but until that day came, she could only look at him with distain and sadness. She climbed up onto her horse, “Dutch, I--” she grabbed onto her reins and slowly turned from him, “Hurry up—shouldn’t keep Mr. Thomas waiting...” and left him behind. Though it didn’t take long to get the place, there was a small house set up along the swamp. Damp and dreary, but someone called it home. Dutch wasn’t too far behind, but far enough as she climbed down and went to find Arthur.  He came over to her as she neared the house; he was stood by his horse, waiting with a smoke in his mouth.

“Get lost did ya?” Arthur smirked, and normally it would make her feel a little better but, today just wasn’t that day.

“Lily got spooked and I went for a trip... in the mud.” She sighed and looked up at him.

 “Looking a little pique there, darlin’.” He turned his head, wondering where Dutch was, “You okay?”

“I ain’t alright. But there’s nothin’ to be done ‘bout it now...” He cupped the back of her head and pulled her against his lips for a deep kiss, before resting his forehead against hers, “Mr.Morgan—“ she whispered and pulled away from him. Dutch finally showed up, though he passed by Arthur and Rose as he walked over to Thomas.

“Thomas,” Dutch extended out his hand, “It is good to see you, my friend.”

“Hello, Mr.Dutch.”

Dutch turned to Arthur and Rose, “Thomas, have you met Arthur and Rose. Thomas is quite the boatman. He’s gonna help us get close to our prey.”  Dutch walked over to the railing, looking over to the swamp, “The other night, we had quite the adventure fishing for catfish, now my friend...” He looked over to Thomas, Rose lighting up a smoke as her and Arthur stood there, “Can I call in that favour?”

“What do you need?”

“You know Angelo Bronte?” Thomas spit in response, “Well exactly, we need to make a... social call. We were hoping you could row us in quietly one evening around the back of his house.”

Thomas looked to Dutch then leaned back against the rail to look at Arthur and Rose, “If anyone can, I can.”

“We’ll pay you for your trouble.”

“If you brining him trouble, it won’t be no trouble for me.” Rose inhaled most of her smoke as they followed Thomas, “my business partner, Jules, he’s out on the skiff, I’ll need to check with him. Plus I need to check the traps. Would you come with me?” He handed Dutch and Rose a lantern as Arthur grabbing onto the last one. They began to follow him along the muddy roads, “Shouldn’t take too long, if we can find him.”

Rose smirked, “Sure a big gator didn’t get him?”

“Highly doubt it, Ms.Rose. But, be lively. Mind you, there’s a lot of gators. Uncommon number, big ones.”

Rose laughed a bit nervously, it’s not like she hadn’t dealt with a gator before but...she didn’t like them one bit. Arthur groaned out, “Great...”

“Come now, Arthur. It’ll take more than a prehistoric reptile to scare you, surely?”

Arthur shook his head, “Well, I just wanna see you meet your match when it comes to an ancient predator with a big mouth, Dutch.” Rose laughed and it felt good, minus the aches and pains she was feeling.

Dutch looked between the two of them, though Rose looked like she was gonna keel over from laughter, “Arthur here is something of a comedian, Thomas. More of a jester than a gunslinger.”

“Well, if you say so, Mr.Dutch. This way, come on, this way. Follow me here and stay on the high ground.”

Rose could feel her boots sticking to the “ground” and groaned with each step, though she was still laughing softly from time to time.

“You call this ground? It feels like water to me.”

Thomas looked over to Arthur, “Down here we can’t be too picky there, Mr.Arthur.” They continued along the path until Thomas lead them from the somewhat solid ground and into the swamp water, “Got a couple of crayfish traps up ahead.”

“Well ain’t this a grand time. Do ya ever catch anything, Thomas?” they continued forward, the water feeling a bit chilly as it soaked through her boots and pants.

“Sometimes, good days, bad days. It’s hard to tell Ms.Rose.”

“And ya haven’t gotten eaten yet? I applaud ya.” She looked around, as Arthur and him walked over to the traps, “pretty sure I wouldn’t last a day livin’ here...”

“I thought them gators wouldn’t like the way ya taste—“ Arthur turned and smirked at her, clearly remembering their conversations from a couple of months ago.

She laughed and shook her head, “I still stand by that statement, Mr.Arthur.”

“Mr.Dutch, Ms.Rose, you keep a look out for company. Mr.Arthur, check the traps with me.” They checked both of them but, there seemed to be nothing in either one of them.

“I don’t wanna know what just touched my leg—“ Dutch said, not wanting to move. Rose shook her head and grabbed onto his arm, pulling him along.

“Aw, don’t worry now, Mr.Dutch. I’ll make sure them critters don’t kill ya.” She grinned as he looked over to her, unamused, “Well, maybe. I ain’t sure yet.”

“You sure you’re the right fellers to be going after Angelo Bronte?” Thomas asked as they began to walk further into the swamp, the water now seeping up past her legs, hips and her stomach.

“Oh, he’s much more the kind of reptile I can handle.”

“Now stay close, make sure you follow my line.” Thomas looked behind at the lot of them.

“Oh I fully intend to, Thomas.” Dutch looked over to Rose for a moment, “you alright there, Ms.Rose?”

The water felt cold, why she had thought wearing her jacket in the water was a good idea was beyond her at this point, “Things not to wear in swamp water...a long ass jacket—“

“You can see why evening swamp-wading hasn’t caught on as a pastime, can’t you?” Dutch asked Thomas.

“I love it out here. Peaceful, nobody bothering you none. ‘Cept for the Night Folk sometimes.”

Rose freaked out feeling something swim past her hip, as she bumped lightly into Dutch, “Night folk?” Dutch asked.

Rose turned to look at him, “Yeah they ain’t pleasant, pretty wild and strange... Agatha and I had a run in with them when we was tryin’ to get back home. Creepy bastards...”

“Well, this just gets better and better.”  Dutch groaned.

They made their way through the waters before Thomas stopped abruptly, “Whoa, stop where you are. It’s a gator. Just stay as still as you can.” They all stood there, watching the damn thing slink through the water, slowly. How Thomas did this every damn day, she didn’t know. “Alright, let’s keep moving.”

Rose was starting to feel a chill from being in the water, “Thomas, I’ve been wantin’ to know, I had heard of some big ol’ gator that roams these waters—ya ever seen him or is that just a story? Was sure I’d seen him when I was here with m’sister many years ago.”

He laughed, “No Ms.Rose, them just stories, nothing more. You probably saw a log or something.”

“Pretty big log—“ she mumbled to herself.

 They continued along, “I got another trap by that small island up ahead. I don’t know what’s taking Jules so long with that boat.”

Dutch chimed in, “I think we are all equally keen to find him.”

“My money’s on he’s been eaten—“ Arthur looked over to her, “What? Ya’ll both know, it ain’t no big ol’ log I saw.”

Thomas walked over and went to grab the trap, “Give me a hand here, Mr.Arthur. This trap is stuck in the mud...It happens.” They pulled it up, and the entire thing had been demolished.

“I guess something didn’t want to be caught...” Arthur flicked away some of the mud.

“My gosh...so it’s true.”

“What is?” Arthur asked.

“There’s been talk of a big old bull...but people talk a lot of nonsense...I guess this was—“ he sighed, “no, but only something huge could do this.” He threw the trap away.

Rose laughed, “Well dammit—“ there was a little bit of fear in her voice, “Shit—“

“Fantastic....well let’s hope it bites you first, Dutch.”

“Should we just keep moving? I don’t really wanna hang around here much longer...”

Rose nodded her head, “For once, I’m agreeing with Dutch here...Can we not be here no more?”

“Alright, I suppose this can wait. Let’s go.” They walked along and past a few trees, “Hold up—“ Thomas said as they all stopped again, watching more gators swim through the waters. Rose backed up slightly, bumping into Dutch as he spoke.

“My God...there’s no shortage of ‘em.”

Rose laughed and moved away, “That’s cause they lookin’ to eat a man that dresses fine. And yous the only one ‘round, Dutch. Such a shame Trelawny ain’t here.” She heard Arthur laugh as they made their way back into deeper water.

“We really should have run into Jules by now. I reckon we should split up so we can search both sides.”

“Or—“ Rose shook her head, “We don’t do that and don’t get eaten—It’s just a suggestion, gentlemen, one I advise we take--“

“Okay—“ Dutch looked over to Rose, with a nice smirk on his face, “M’dear, since you and Arthur appear so at home here, you both take the right. We’ll take the left.”

Rose grinned, “Mr.Dutch, I hope that goddamn gator bites your balls off.” She groaned as Arthur nudged her forward and began to walk with him through the waters. The lantern was being held high above the water, though it was starting to hurt her arm from having to hold it up constantly.

“You doing okay? You seem a little edgy.”

“Edgy? Ya wanna see edgy, Mr.Morgan, I will show ya edgy—“ she jumped a little feeling something touch her leg.

Arthur laughed, “You have zero problems jumping in that lake at Clemens Point, but this—this bothers you?”

She kept her eyes ahead, “When there’s talk a big ol’ gator round these parts, YEAH.” Her heart was pounding fast in her chest, “C’mon, let’s go find this son of a bitch...’suming he’s alive at this point.”

A chill ran down Rose’s back as they walked through the waters, until they got up onto a small area and looked around, “Hello?” Arthur yelled out as they walked along the small patch of land.

“Jules?” Rose yelled out and walked back into the water, feeling very cold, “Jules! Answer feller!”

“Jules!” Arthur yelled and started to run through the water with Rose trying to keep up with him. She looked over seeing a dim light in a tree.

“Arthur!” she pointed.

The water flowed seamlessly around them as they walked over, “Someone there?” Arthur yelled out.

“Over here!” Jules finally answered them.

Rose looked up in the tree, “Oh, I guess he didn’t get eaten.”

“Hey! You in the tree. What are you doing?” Arthur asked.

“There’s a monster...a monster!”

Rose didn’t feel good, “Well then, hate to ask, but um, why don’t ya come down from there, boy. We be needin’ that boat.”

“There’s a monster!” he exclaimed again.

Rose looked over to Arthur, “Where?” he asked.

“Massive, it nearly ate me.”

“Where’d he go?”

Rose grabbed onto Arthur, “Does it matter? We be needin’ that boat. We be needin’ to get the fuck outta here!” She looked up at Jules, “Where’s the boat, boy?”

“It was a big gator—“ Rose sighed in annoyance, “biggest I ever saw! Big and nasty! Knocked me off the boat and chased me over here.”

Rose nodded her head, “And you’s in a tree and we’s down here in the goddamn water... So ya gonna tell me where the boat is, boy? I reckon I don’t wanna get eaten and I reckon ya don’t be in that tree all night.”

He pointed, “It’s over there...I ran, I—oh—“ Rose looked and saw the boat.

“Okay...” Arthur looked to Rose for a moment, “and uh, where’d this monster swim off to?”

“That way—“ poor boy was scared half to death, with wasn’t helping with how Rose was feeling about being stuck in the water, “Good luck shooting that thing, you’ll need a cannon.”

“Well shit, I don’t got m’one of those—“ she sighed and looked to Arthur, “stay here, I’ll—go and see if I can move that damn thing—“

“You sure?”

“I ain’t sure, Arthur. Just—stay—“ she started to walk over to the boat.

“Please get the boat, miss. I’ve been up here for hours.”

“I’m goin’—“ she walked through the waters, seeing the boat caught onto a big branch. She placed the lantern down in the boat and grabbed onto the edge and began to move it. The thought was freaking her out and anything that touched her while she was moving it, well, made things only worse for her.

“You sure you don’t want my help?”

“Shut up, Arthur—I’m concentratin’—“ she grabbed onto the branch that the boat was stuck on and broke it free before sinking more into the water. Jules came down finally, as Arthur walked with him. Dutch and Thomas making their way over to the boat, “It’s free—“

“Look at you, trying to show the men up—“

“Shut up, Dutch—“ she held onto the boat letting the others climb in. Dutch reached his hand over and helped her into the boat. It may have not been land, but it was dry, though it was still in the water. Thomas grabbed onto the ors.

“Alright, let’s get back to the docks.” Thomas said.

“Yes, please let’s go.” Jules said in a panic.

Arthur and Dutch sat down beside each other and Rose sat across from them, ringing out her jacket and what not. Thomas started them back towards the dock.

“So, er, who are these guys, Thomas?” Jules asked.

“Three new friends of mine, I’ll explain later.”

Dutch turned his head, “Jules, we are very happy to have finally made your acquaintance.”

“I thought I was gonna be out here all night.”

Rose chuckled, “Oh Jules, I was thinkin’ the same damn thing—“ she shook her head, emptying out the water from her boots.

“What was you doing hiding up in the tree, boy?”

“This gator was huge, Thomas. Twice as big as I ever seen. Twice as angry too—“

The boat abruptly stopped, making Rose scream in surprise. “Now what?” Dutch asked.

For some reason, she just couldn’t control herself, “Oh lord--this is how we die.” Rose felt panicked.

“Calm down, Rose—“ Dutch went to reach out, “calm down—“

Rose smacked his hand away, “No, Dutch. I ain’t calmin’ down--I  _refuse_  to get eaten by goddamn big ol’ gator that has anger issues.”

“It’s alright, miss...I think we hit a tree stump.” Jules said, as she rested her head in her hands, trying to breathe.

“Yeah, I’d thought we’d clear it. You gonna need to jump in and pull us free.” Thomas looked down at Jules.

“Me?”

“Yeah, just do it, won’t take you a minute boy, go on.”

“This is a bad idea.”Jules seemed so hesitant to go back into the water, Rose couldn’t blame him though...she didn’t want to go back in either. But he got in and headed over to the front of the boat.

“We’ll see any giant monster, long before it gets anywhere near you...We got a few of crack gunslingers here with their guns loaded! You’ll be fine—“

“You didn’t see the thing.” Jules grabbed onto the rope and began to walk out, and pulled on the rope, trying to budge the boat.

“Yeah, neither did you...it’s just a myth Jules, now pull!”

Jules pulled as hard as he could and at last the boat moved forward freeing them from the stump. But not even two seconds later, Jules disappeared under the water.

“Oh no—“ Rose stood up and looked down in the water, “That ain’t good—“

“He weren’t kidding...No, I’m going in!” Thomas went to jump in the water when Dutch stopped him.

“No, no, we can’t lose the boat. Arthur’ll go.”

Arthur turned to look down at him, “I will!?”

“Quick!” Dutch yelled as “Arthur go—“

He groaned and hopped back into the water as he made his way, Jules calls for help echoed throughout the swamp. Rose looked watching in fear and pulled out her pistol making sure it was loaded. Arthur grabbed onto Jules and threw him over his shoulder. Something popped up behind them, “The both of ya—shoot something!”

“Just, just don’t look behind you!” Dutch yelled out.

Rose pointed her gun, “C’mon, Dutch!” she yelled at him.

“Fire off a couple of warning shots, just to pretend you care.” Arthur yelled out, hurrying back to the boat as fast as he could.

Rose shot and tried to hit that gator but, seemed nothing was gonna stop it, “I be right, this is how we die—“

“Shut up, Rose—“ Dutch gritted through his teeth, shooting off both his guns.

Arthur neared the boat with Jules and handed him over to Dutch as he pulled him onto the boat. Rose grabbing onto Arthur and yanking him back in before pointing their guns back at the gator, “Finish that son of a bitch!”

She was running out of bullets real quick trying to dissuade the damn creature from coming, “I’m running low on ammo here—“ it made its way closer to the boat and yes, Jules was right, “Oh god—“ It finally disappeared under the boat, leaving them in peace for a few minutes.

“Shit, that is one big old gator!” Arthur groaned out.

“Your boy don’t look too good there—“ Dutch looked to Thomas.

“Here—“ He handed over some material to Rose, “use this—“

She got down beside Jules and began to wrap his leg up, “Gonna be okay there, Jules...gonna be just fine—make sure to thank your old uncle Dutch.” She finished wrapping it up and started to apply pressure to the wound.

“I heard that.”

“Should be fine—if he don’t get a fever—“ Rose kept pressure on his wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

“The fever is the least of our problems—“ Rose couldn’t be bothered to look up, “Look who’s back—Put every bullet you got in him!”

Rose kept down as she had barely any bullets left, “You’ll be alright---“ she whispered and finally stopped the bleeding. Gunshots echoed through her ears as they tried to kill the damn thing...if that was even possible. But after some time there was silence.

“There, I think it’s had enough...”

“For now...Jesus, can we get back now?” Arthur asked.

Rose shook her head, “I think I’m done with boats and swamps for a long while.” She laughed out of hysteria and looked over to Jules, “Ya alright there, boy?” he groaned in response as she stood up and sat back down.

“Usually the litter gators are the angry ones—big ones are usually lazy.”

“Well, I guess he never outgrew his anger, kind of reminds me of you, Arthur.” 

Arthur looked behind at Dutch, “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you squeal before, Dutch.”

“I weren’t the one squealing.” Dutch edged his eyes on Arthur.

Arthur didn’t look all too pleased at the comment, “Yeah well, you weren’t in the water with him and this poor boy was nearly dinner.”

Rose was laughing, not at what happened to Jules, but the banter between Arthur and Dutch. But Dutch looked on right over at her, “You weren’t any better, m’dear.”

“Oh no—“ she waved her hand at him, “ya ain’t draggin’ me into this—“

“I trust for you to keep a cool head and preaching about Death wasn’t helping none.” He watched her looking at him, “Ain’t never seen you so, scared.”

Arthur chuckled, “Goddamn jumpy, is what she was.”

Rose glared at the two of them, “I still got _some_  bullets and if ya’ll don’t shut it...”

Thomas took them back to the docks, where a few other people were waiting for them, “Can we get some help here—Jules been bitten!” they pulled up to the dock. Dutch and Arthur both were helping Jules out of the boat as the others took him away and into the house. Rose climbed out with Dutch and Arthur. Thomas looked between the three of them, “Thank you, the three of you.” Thomas looked over to Dutch, “I’m at your service anytime you need me.”

“Thank you, Thomas.” He shook his hand, “Where can we find you?”

“You just meet me back here.”

“Very good.”

“Can one of you help me put the boat back out?”

“Sure.” Arthur said as he went to help.

Dutch started to slowly make his way back to his horse, “I’m going to head back to camp and placate the irritable Ms.O’Shea, who’s causing more trouble. I’ll collect the boys, meet you back here Arthur.”

“Hold up, Dutch—“ Rose said and walked over to him, “I’ll head back with ya. I—I need to not be here no more.” She turned and looked Arthur, blowing him a kiss. He smirked and turned his attention back to helping Thomas. She walked with Dutch back over to their horses and climbed up, trotting away from the area. A bad feeling crept up on her and thinking maybe she shouldn’t have left with Dutch. But never the less, she left with him. It was quiet for the most part, as they trotted along the road, heading back towards camp, “Ya not chattin’ m’ear off...Big ol’ gator shake your bones?”

Dutch laughed softly and smiled, “Believe or not, I do have things I need to think about.”

“What like mango farmin’ in Tahiti?” He looked over at her seeing her expression, “C’mon Dutch...”

“Better than stayin’ here, m’dear.”

“Anywhere is better than here.” It went silent again between the two of them, slowly making their way back. “How is Molly doin’?”

Dutch shook his head, “I wouldn’t bother asking.”

“Maybe ya should tell her the truth. It ain’t fair to her, Dutch.”

He laughed, “Why you care so much, Rose? She ain’t your problem.”

Rose sighed, “That might be the case, but... she also tried to kill me, Dutch. Are ya forgettin’ that?”

“No.” He looked over to her, “But I guess it ain’t fair to me, the way you treat me.”

Rose smiled and felt confused at the comment, “The way I treat ya? Far cry from what ya do to me, Dutch...”

“Ain’t it all the same though?” He looked ahead and raised his hand up at her and pointed ahead. There were a few people along the road, but they didn’t look like people and that in its-self was frightening, however she knew... Dutch went to speak when Rose went up beside his horse and covered his mouth with her hand.

“That them Night Folk, Dutch—“ she whispered quietly, “We need to get outta here—“

“We have guns, Rose.”

She looked over to him, “Ya think that big ol’ gator was a pain...ya start shootin’ these fuckers and more will come. They are scary, Dutch. Please, listen to me...”

Dutch looked down at the road ahead of him, “Fine—Ditch your horse and get on mine—“

“What—but Lily—“

“She’ll be fine, Rose.” Dutch looked over to her.

She sighed and climbed down from her horse, smacking its side, “Go on!” it neighed loudly and ran off into the distance. Hopefully a gator wouldn’t get a hold of Lily or anything else for that matter. Dutch grabbed onto her hand and pulled her up onto his horse. She motioned over to the left, “There’s a path—don’t rush though, they’re pretty fast fellers for being on their feet—“

Dutch nodded his head as the horse trotted towards the path off to the left, Rose kept her eyes up, watching as they lingered in the dark. They weren’t pleasant folk, she didn’t know what was wrong with them but...they were strange and if anyone managed to cross their paths, they wouldn’t last very long. Rose rested her hand s on his waist and it was still wet from walking through the swamp, “And pray-tell m’dear, where is it we are going?”

“Just keep going, I’ll let ya know when it’s safe...”

“How do you know this?”

Roses fingers tightened around his waist, “When Agatha and I went on that fishin’ trip, we ran into these guys tryin’ to get leave the damn swamp. They weren’t pleasant, Dutch. Agatha was scared...I needed to get us out, so I did.” She kept her eyes alert watching and waiting. They went along the path for a long while, leaving Lagras behind. A relief fell over her as she sighed heavily, “I don’t like them folk...scary as fuck they are.”

Dutch chuckled as they continued along the road, it wasn’t until they were near Saint Denis, that Rose hopped down from his horse, “you not coming back to camp?”

“Needin' to do a few things in town, Dutch.” she went to walk away when he came down from his horse, she stopped and turned to face him, “Thank ya…for trustin' me and listenin'.” Her eyes watched his, feeling this pain clutch in her chest. A part of her wanted to tell him, about Noah but… it wouldn’t do them either good. She walked close to him, her eyes a little red and glossy.

“Rose?” he reached out, “what’s wrong?”

Her body moved back as a few tears slid down her face. There was no contempt in his eyes, only sadness. A part of him…she wasn’t even sure he had anymore, “there might come a day that I’ll tell ya, but—” she walked back slowly, pressing her finger into his chest, “if it happens…it'll be to rip your heart out, Dutch Van Der Linde. Cause I promise ya, it will.”

He stood there looking down at her, she was sure he had some something to say. But all he did was walk back over to his horse and climbed back up, “c'mon, I’ll take you into town.”

“Dutch, I can walk it--"

He reached his hand down, “let’s go, Rose.” She stood there wondering what his angle was but, she walked over and grabbed onto his hand as he helped her up.

“Dutch--" she whispered.

“Where you need to go?”

Her hands lightly grazed along his waist and held onto him, “Just—anywhere near the entrance of town, Dutch…”

They trotted along silently, thought it didn’t last long as he ended up asking, “Do you hate me, Rose?”

“There's a big difference between worryin' ‘bout someone and hatin' ‘em…” she laughed softly for a moment, “perhaps I ain’t been doin' this right.” Her eyes went up to the curls at the back of his head.

“You don’t need to worry about me, Rose.”

“Even Hosea is worried, Dutch--"

He laughed, though it wasn’t a pleasant laugh, “he’s lost his spine, Rose. Not tough anymore--"

She sighed, “I don’t blame him one bit, Dutch. He's--" well he's sick and dying. “he ain’t trying to piss ya off…”

“I have a plan, Rose. Just wish everyone would trust in that.” He felt her fingers tighten.

“You  _always_ have a plan, Dutch…seems to be your fuckin' sayin’, even when Agatha and I were ‘round ya.”

“You trusted in those plans, even when we robbed that train. Had no arguing from you. The only thing that made you run was my love for you.” His voice was low and raspy, “so don’t act high and mighty , Ms.Reeds…its unbecoming of you.”

She laughed, resting her head against his back, “Far from high and mighty, Mr. Van Der Linde. So goddamn far from it…” she looked as the crossed over the bridge and into the city.

“Then why ain’t I good enough?”

She grabbed onto the back of his collar and pulled him back, her lips whispering softly against his ear, “so many things I wanna tell ya, Dutch. So. Many. Things…” he groaned, feeling the warmth of her, “Thank ya, Dutch.” She lightly pushed him away and hopped down, “Good Luck with Ms.O'Shea. You’re gonna need it.”

“You’re playing with fire, Ms.Reeds. I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

She turned her head and looked back at him, “I’ve been burned many times before, Dutch. I’m still standin'.” Swiftly and quickly she walked away from him, wondering in the back of her mind, how much longer that would be. But she had other matters on hand, like paying a visit to Angelo Bronte…to deal with him herself. If Dutch dragged everyone into the matter, then…things would go wrong for everyone else and she didn’t want that for them. Only she would be blamed for it. Only she would lose her life... Her feet walked swiftly along the concrete as she made her way towards Angelo’s place. There would be a lot of guards around the damn place, mostly at the gate. Then again, she could probably just walk in, if he was thinking she was there for…other reasons. She shook her head at the thought, feeling uncomfortable. Angelo Bronte wasn’t a man to be reckoned with. Dutch would be livid about this, but it didn’t matter to her. It needed to be done.

She walked up to the gates, the man standing there eyeing her for a moment. There seemed to be no one else outside at the moment and for Angelo well, that seemed out of place for a man of his stature. “Mr.Bronte is seeing no one—“

She reached through the bars and grabbed onto the scruff of his neck, pulling him hard against the gate and pointing her gun at him. There was no time for this, Dutch would probably be back tomorrow night with the boys and then—it would be too late, “Do you wanna die, boy? Cause that’s what’s in store for ya, if ya don’t open, this, gate.”

She loosened her grip letting him open the gate, as she slipped through, watching him. She put her pistol back in its holster and smiled softly, “was that so bad?” He started to shake his head when she pushed him against the stone wall and covered his mouth, shoving her knife deep into his neck. His body squirmed for a moment before falling limp. She pulled her knife out and grabbed onto his body, dragging it into the bushes, “It ain’t you, it’s me…I hope ya understand—“ she whispered. After hiding the body she walked up the stairs and into the house, no one had seen what she had done but, she held her hands up as a few of them pointed their guns at her and spoke in Italian. Even though she didn’t understand the language, she understood anger. Angelo finally made an appearance after hearing the racket from downstairs, he seemed angry at first until he saw Rose, standing there in quite heavy breathing.

“Mia cara…” a smirk played along his lips, “tell me, what are you doing here so late? Someone as beautiful as yourself would surely need their, beauty sleep.”

Her eyes watched his, “I ain’t the sleeping type—“ her voice was low, “would rather some fun…”

Angelo laughed, “how convenient…” one of his men walked behind Rose, but she didn’t see or hear him, “so would I, Mia cara—“ he nodded his head as she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and fell down onto the ground, her vision blurred as he bent down in front of her, “come—stay—“ his voice sounded so far away and soon everything went black.

A lot of time had passed while she was knocked out cold and when she woke, there was a pain between her legs. Her wrists were bound together, her blouse opened and exposing her skin, but not her breasts. Her pants were unbuttoned as though someone had pulled them off already. Through the blurriness, she looked to the window, it was the next day and it was dusk. Had she really been out that long? If so, she needed to hurry, if she could even do that. Her vision was coming back into focus as she looked over to see Angelo, slipping on his robe. A painful, horrifying feeling churned in her gut. She went to pull her on the restraints and cried out, alerting Angelo to her awakened state. He slowly walked over to the bed and looked down at her, “consider the debt, repaid, Mia cara—“

Roses eyes shook at she looked at him and a screamed erupted from her throat, as she squirmed and tried to fight the restraints. He laughed and then tried to soothe her, his hands lightly running along her face, “What is the matter? I thought you would be thrilled. No more debt, Mia cara—“

“Go to hell, Angelo!” She cried out.

He grinned and pulled away, “I must go and get my rest as staying up with you has made me quite tired—“ her eyes shook as she shut them tightly, “rest, Mia cara. You will need it.” He pulled away and left the room, shutting the door behind him. She pulled at the rope once again, moving as she could, but an immense pain shot through her, trying to do so.

“Shit—“ her voice whimpered out and tried to look around the area for anything. Her stuff seemed like a far cry away from her…but the glass he left with his whiskey in it, well…that was on the table near the side of the bed. She pulled herself up and looked over to the table. However she couldn’t twist her feet over to the damn thing to grab it. Someone came back into her bedroom, however it wasn’t Angelo, but one of his men. Tall, slicked brown hair, little tanned and he had some muscles. He walked over to the side of the bed and looked down at her.

“Ya ain’t so special.” His eyes ran along her exposed skin, “but ya ain’t so bad—“ she looked seeing the knife at his side as he crawled between her legs. That was her ticket out of there.

“Now—hold on a minute cowboy—“ she breathed out, “perhaps I can interest ya in something else…” she needed her hands free…that’s all she needed.

“Like what?” He rasped out, “quite like a woman tied up and helpless…”

Rose bit her tongue, he’d get what’s coming to him, “I bet. Handsome feller like yourself… bet the ladies just love crawling all over ya…” she winked playfully, “I know I’d like too—“

He seemed intrigued, “That so?”

“Yeah— real good with m’mouth and m’hands—“

Not all men would fall for such a plight but… this bastard better. He bent down near her ear, breathing hot and heavy, “ya gonna show me?”

“Ya untie me and I’ll let ya do whatever ya want to me—“

That was the ticket for him, letting him do whatever he wants. He grinned and pulled out his knife, running it along her skin for a moment, “Whatever I want?”

“Whatever ya want, cowboy—“ she whispered. He took the knife up to the rope and sliced through it all, freeing her wrists. She smiled and quickly reached over, grabbing onto the glass and smashing it hard against his face, feeling pieces of glass fall down onto her. He groaned loudly and pulled back and quickly she grabbed onto the knife and shoved it deep into his throat. She threw him onto the bed and straddled him, pushing the knife in further, “as if—I’d let a sick fuck like ya, touch me—“ She gritted through her teeth, watching as he went limp. She crawled off him and buttoned up her pants and went to button up her top but found some of the buttons missing, “Fuck...” she’d be exposed, for the most part. She wasn’t sure where her things were, though they were probably with Angelo in his room. Some blood spurted on her as she pulled the knife out of the man’s neck, wiping both sides of the blade on her pants. Getting out of here wouldn’t be easy. Doable, but not easy.

She walked over to the door and opened it slowly. One guard made his way up the stairs and walked down the hallway, when she came out of the room. Slowly she followed him along and after a few moments, finally pulled him off to the side and shoved the knife into his neck. He had a nice rifle on him, so she took it and continued along the way. It was really dark out by the time she cleared the first floor, most of her clothing stained by their blood. There were a few men out on the balcony on the second floor with also a few men probably hidden throughout some of the rooms. She snuck back upstairs slowly, the floors creaked somewhat, making it a little hard. There was the brunt force of someone knocking into her as she made it to the top of the stairs.

“You little whore—“ the man seethed through his teeth, trying to get the knife from her. Her leg came up fast between his legs, hitting him hard in the balls. In his moment of weakness she sliced the knife along his throat and pushed him off, leaving him to bleed out. She went out to the balcony, sneaking along, stabbing them swiftly and quietly in the neck. The scent of blood filled her nostrils and it was starting to make her feel nausea. She needed to find Angelo and her goddamn shit. There was a door in the house that was locked and kicked at it hard a few times before it flung open, a bullet whizzed past her as she pulled out the rifle and aimed it at the men in the room, shooting them down quick. She went over to a chest and opened it, finding all her things. There was a sound in the next room that made her abandon grabbing her things for the moment. Slowly she walked over to the door and with one swift kick, broke it open. There was Angelo Bronte, cowering in the tub.

“Mia cara—“ but she didn’t say anything and hurried over to him, butting him hard with the rifle. He groaned, it would give her some time to grab her things, which she did and acquired a shot gun from one of the other fellers. When Angelo was more coherent enough, she tied his hands behind his back and shoved him down the stairs, roughly, “if you’ll let me explain—“

“One more word from ya, and I’ll fuckin’ paint the walls with your blood.” Something snapped inside of her and there had been so much bullshit in her life, there was never a break from it. She pressed the gun into his back, “now—walk—“ she shoved him out the back of the house as they slowly walked down the stone path. Her eyes went up, seeing something near the dock at the back and wondered if she had missed anyone. Slowly she walked towards the dock, keeping Angelo close.

As she neared the cloaked shadows she realized that it was Dutch and them. When she got to the dock, Dutch climbed out of the boat, with Arthur and John. She heard Dutch laugh, “it would seem gentlemen, that I was not the only person Mr.Bronte here, had pissed off—“

Rose walked with him, and stopped a few feet away, “get on your knees—“ she whispered viciously to him. As he bent down on the ground, the laughter stopped and a realization fell over Dutch’s face, seeing who was standing there. It was Rose…covered in blood, her blouse opened and exposing most of her skin, cuts bruises and there was this maddening look in her eyes.

“Rose, what are you—“ but then anger set in and it set in quick, “what the hell do you think you’re doing? I had a plan—“

Her eyes went up to his, they were dark and distant, almost mad like, “you wanted a job done, Dutch…” there didn’t seem to be much care within them at the moment, “and I got it done. So shut up.”

Arthur looked at her, seeing the amount of blood she was covered in, “Rose—“ her eyes went to his for a second. Rose wasn’t in there right now...someone else was…a very, very, angry woman.

Angelo laughed at the lot of them, “I am not afraid of you, Mia cara. You are pathetic—you and the rest of these men—“

“Rose!” Dutch yelled, as she pressed the gun against his head.

Her breathing was light, “Says the man that set us up—“ the anger shook through her hands as she rested her finger on the trigger, “says the man who raped me…” the others climbed off the boat and looked down at Angelo, such disdain in their eyes.

“Mia cara—“

“STOP callin’ me that!”

Arthur slowly approached Rose, “he ain’tworth it.” He whispered, the angry tears slid down her blood stained cheeks, “Rose—he ain't worth it—“

“He’s done so much, Arthur—“ her voice was soft and broken, “I ain’t gonna let him get away—“ Dutch was watching the two of them. But she couldn’t take it and after what happened... her eyes went up to Dutch’s as she pulled the trigger. The bullets from the shotgun exploded out the back of Angelo’s head with some of his blood splattering onto her and Arthur’s clothing and fell down limp onto the dock. Rose stood there shaking for a moment, before she threw the shotgun into the lake. Dutch stood there mortified at what she had done, going behind his back like that and there was no amount of love that was going to stop the anger that he felt for her.

“Get in the goddamn boat, Rose.”

Arthur stood between Dutch and her, “Enough of that. Plans don’t always work out, Dutch…you outta all people should know that.”

“Get her in the boat—“ he grabbed onto Angelo’s dead body and pushed it into the lake, “we’re done here.” Slowly she got into the boat, her eyes catching onto a few of the boys, they seemed to have sympathy in their eyes, minus Dutch and Micah. She sat down beside Charles with Arthur sitting on the other side of her and there was a lot of tension at the front of the boat, “gonna have to talk about loyalty, Rose—“

“Spare me the details, Dutch. I just spared the camp from the bullshit that’ll come with this. If them Pinkertons come, well...” she laughed, “we’ll know why. Won’t we Dutch? Cause we always know.” Arthur placed his hand on her back, watching her, but he couldn’t see any good right now, “perhaps a thank ya, would be better than ya bitchin’ bout the fact that I got here first—“

“It’s best, that you and I don’t talk right now, Ms.Reeds.”

“Well its ‘bout fuckin’ time, Dutch.” She kept her eyes along the bottom of the boat as Thomas rowed them back to the settlement. When they got back, they all got out of the boat. Rose sat against the railing and stared off at the swamp, lost in her mind. Dutch and the others left and headed back to camp, the fuming anger that he was feeling would do her no good. Slowly she reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette, though it shook in her hand as she tried to light it.

“He was a bad man, miss.” She looked over to Thomas, as Arthur helped him with the boat.

She nodded her head, “I know, Thomas. I know that all too well.” She finally lit up her smoke after a few attempts, feeling the sweet burn of tobacco invade her throat. She waved at Thomas as he rowed away from her and Arthur.

He walked over and stood beside her, “why?” she looked over him, “why did ya go and do that?”

Her eyes were hardened with anger, some sadness lingering within them, “I care ‘bout this gang, Arthur. Should I get caught…I’m prepared for whatever happens. Better my head, then the lot of yours--"

Arthur was bothered by the thought, “Rose..."

She moved and stood in front of him, “I love ya. I love Hosea, I unfortunately have the awful pleasure of also lovin' Dutch. I lost Agatha. We've lost Sean and Kieran. People don’t want folk like us no more, Arthur.”

He chuckled for a moment, “Ain’t that the truth…” he looked over to her as she placed the cigarette against her lips, “C'mere--" he grabbed onto her and pulled her right against him, his arms wrapping around her.

“There ain’t no happiness--"

“We make what we can of it, Rose. Ain’t no shame in that.” He looked down at the top of her head, “you need a bath--"

“Naw, really?”

“C'mon—” he moved her slowly as he started to walk away.

“And go where, Arthur? I walk into Saint Denis like this and I’ll be hung before the nights over…”

“We ain’t going there.”

She sighed and made her way over to him as he climbed up on his horse, “Where we goin’ then?”

“The river.” Arthur looked down at her and reached his hand down.

“Why, ya gonna save Dutch the trouble and drown me yourself?” a small smirk played along her lips.

His laugh was deep and raspy, how she loved it, “Get on--" she grabbed onto his hand as he helped her up and leaned against him as they left the area, listening to the sound of his heart pounding in his chest. At least he was still human, after this…she wasn’t sure she was anymore. They went along the Kamassa River till they found a spot, mostly free of wild life and no signs of anyone else, water was clean, but at this point it didn’t matter. Arthur pulled on the reins stopping his horse as Rose hopped down onto the ground.

“Go on, Ill set up camp. Check the water.” She almost felt like a child with the way he was speaking to her.

“I ain’t gone idiot, ya know—“ she turned away from him and walked over to the edge of the river and stuck her hand in it, was a little cool but, nothing she couldn’t handle. The water ran through her fingers for a little while before she stood up and walked back over to Arthur, seeing he was lighting up the camp fire. He looked up at her. She reached her hand down, “c’mon—“ she whispered.

He laughed softly and looked up at her, “What you need some protecting in the water?” He watched the fire reflect in her eyes as she stood there waiting. Finally he grabbed onto her hand and stood up, she walked with him over to the river and slowly began to strip off her things, placing them down, though she’d have to scrub them good if she wanted to save any of them from the bloody stains. She turned her head and looked back at Arthur, but he hadn’t moved. “Ya ‘fraid of me, Arthur?”

“No, that ain’t it.” His eyes trailed along her naked body, “just taking in the view—“ Her body slowly disappeared into the water, only going up to her belly button and splashed the water all over her, washing off as much blood as she could. Small trails of red floated from her and down the river. She stood there for a few moments watching it with Arthur sat on a rock near the edge of the river, just in case. She walked back over and grabbed onto her clothing, dipping it into the water as she tried to clean it out the best she could. Arthur watched her, seeing how sad she was. It wasn’t like she wasn’t used to killing people, for some reason, this, had pushed her over the edge. Arthur could care less that she killed Angelo Bronte, it’s what Dutch wanted anyways. But it always had to be his way, his plans and Rose had gone behind that all.

Rose looked up from her washing and smiled softly, “ya goddamn pervert.”

“Who me?” He shook his head, his voice low as he spoke, “nooo.”

“Thinkin’ I ain’t gonna be able to get all this blood out, but—I’ll see.” She grabbed onto her wet clothing and walked over to Arthur, as he wrapped a blanket around her and walked with her over to the fire and as she sat down. Arthur knelt down beside the fire and started cooking up some meat, Rose sat there looking at the flames before he eyes went up to his. For a few moments he was paying attention to what he was doing and then felt her gaze burning into him.

“There something you want?”

“Ain’t there always something…?” she watched him closely and then smiled sadly, “just wantin’ ya beside me, Arthur.” He moved over beside her as they sat together. Rose leaned over, trying to feel the warmth from him before his arm finally wrapped around shoulders and pulled her close. Her eyes closed at the contact of his lips against her temple, feeling his love for her. She turned to look at him, his eyes looking into hers, “hate that I went behind Dutch’s back?”

“You could’ve gotten hurt, Rose. More so than ya did... But it ain’t my place to say.” He coughed for a moment, seemed that it was happening more frequent than not...the coughing, “I love you, that ain’t changed.” Her fingers wrapped around his shirt as she pulled him close, brushing her lips against his.

“Ya gonna warm m’up?” she whispered and climbed into his lap, a groan escaped his lips as his hands ran along her waist.

“Frisky, ain’t ya?” he pressed his lips softly against her neck and took in the warmth of her body against his.

Her fingers locked through his hair as she moaned softly into the night air, “I need ya, Arthur...” her eyes closed as she felt him fiddle with his pants, “ya have—no idea...” she whispered as he moved her down onto the ground, towering above her with his pants unbuttoned and open.

He hummed as he looked down at her naked form, watching the glow of the fire dance along every inch of her, “No—“ he rasped out, “I do.”

 

The night went fast as the morning came. When she woke, Arthur’s arm was tight around her waist and the smell of the campfire smoke filled her senses. Her brown eyes stared out at the piles of charred wood, it must have gone out at some point during the night. Arthur’s arm tightened around her, but she didn’t feel him wake up and she didn’t want it to end. Though she knew she’d have to go back and face Dutch, that’s assuming he’d ever speak to her again...she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Her eyes looked down at her wrists, seeing a god awful bruising around them. An ache fell through her as she laid there; it was dull and it made her wonder what was going on.

But it wasn’t like she’d get any answers...

A soft moan sounded from her as she felt Arthur’s lips press softly against the back of her neck, interrupting her thoughts, “Ya horny bugger—“ she laughed softly, letting him ravish her.

“I don’t hear you complaining—“ he whispered against her ear, before she turned and looked up at him. She looked so tired, so exhausted. He wasn’t sure if it was from last night...or just everything, “I love you.”

“I love ya, too. But, we be needin’ to get back. Much as I don’t wanna...” a part of her didn’t want to, she didn’t want to deal with Dutch and whatever bullshit he had in store. They laid there for a while, as the sun rose up further into the sky.

“Don’t worry about it too much, Rose—“ he pressed his lips against hers softly and lovingly, “c’mon—“ he pulled himself from under the blankets and grabbed onto his clothing and slipped it back on. Rose wrapped the blanket around her and walked over to her clothes.

“Well, little stained but, nothing that screams I fuckin’ murdered a bunch of European bastards...” she changed into her pants first before dropping the blanket onto the ground and changing back into her shirt. It was still blue, just not as vibrant, the material felt a little damp still but, it didn’t matter anyway.

Arthur began to pack up the camp, “If you’s don’t like it, ya can have one of my shirts.”

Rose smiled softly, “Ain’t ya a gentlemen?” and went to button up her shirt, realizing...she couldn’t, “Gonna hafta take ya up on that offer, Arthur—“

He looked over to her and nodded his head, “Think I go somethin’ here—“ he walked over to his horse and reached into his saddle bag and he did, “Here—“ she walked over and grabbed the shirt from him and slipped it on quickly. Arthur grabbed onto her hat and placed it on her head, looking down at her. They walked back over to his horse and climbed up before heading back to camp.

 

When they returned, Arthur didn’t stay long, saying he needed to head back out and do a few things, “Where’s he runnin’ off too?”  John walked over to Rose, looking at her for a moment. But he didn’t look at her with pity in his eyes; there seemed to be some understanding of what happened with Angelo Bronte.

“Oh ya,” she chuckled for a moment, “said somethin’ bout an Albert Mason. He’s been helpin’ the feller with some—“ she began to laugh, “—some nature pictures.”

John laughed and shook his head, “Odd thing, I’d say.” Rose walked with John towards the camp fire.

“Naw, it’s nice. Been helpin’ out folk. It’s more than I can say for m’self.” She walked over to her cot and sat down on the edge of it, “He says he’s a bad man...but I don’t see that.”

John nodded his head, “Well it’s not like he likes me anyhow—“

“Well, I know that, but...a part of me knows different.” She smiled up at John as he nodded his head and then turned away from her tent. For the longest time she sat there, her gaze going up to the balcony a few times, with no signs of Dutch. She sighed and pulled herself from her cot and went around camp, doing a few chores here and there till evening rolled around. Rose walked over to the campfire and sat down on the log, staring into the flames. Where everyone else was, she didn’t know. It wasn’t until she heard the sound of someone walking up behind that she turned her head and saw Dutch standing there.

“We need to talk.” His voice was distant but maybe it was like that all the time now. She didn’t argue and moved from the log as she walked with him back into the house and up the stairs to his room.

Rose shut the door behind her, looking around the room, “Where’s Molly?”

Dutch shrugged his shoulders, “Couldn’t tell you, m’dear.” He walked over and stopped at the edge of the bed, “Ms.O’shea has been making it a habit of disappearing recently.”

“I can’t imagine why, Dutch.” He turned his head to look at her, “Been such a great man to her...”

“We ain’t here to talk about Molly, Rose.”

Rose walked over to him, “Right, here to talk ‘bout m’blowin’ poor Mr.Bronte’s head off?”

“You had no right going behind my back, Rose.” He still didn’t turn to face her.

She laughed, “It ain’t ‘bout right. I did what I had to. Ya would’ve done the same thing. So don’t ya lecture me—“

“I had a plan--”

“Fuck your plan—“ that made him turn around, his eyes angry as he looked at her, “Ya wanted him dead. He’s dead—“

Dutch looked down at her, not realizing how close she had gotten to him, “You shouldn’t have gone—Bronte wouldn’t have—“ he stopped, which made Rose laugh viciously.

“Raped me? Why not say it, Dutch?” she shook her head, looking at him, “Story of m’life. Ya don’t see m’cryin’ ‘bout it—“

Dutch went to move forward which made her step back, “You seem to think I’m some kind of monster...when in reality—you’re the monster.”

The thought had occurred to her, not just with what happened to Bronte, but with Agatha, with her leaving their son behind, her father... Her eyes were vacant as she watched him, “At least I’d be willin’ to die for those people out there—can ya say the same?”

He smiled for a moment, “I’ve done everything for them— _everything_.”

She walked close to him, “Who ya tryin’ to convince? Me or yourself?” her breathing was light, “Whatever this is—it’s _over_ —“ she gritted through her teeth, her eyes strong, but wavering.

He moved towards her as she backed up and finally hit the wall, he was close and the smell of him was invading her senses. His hand was gripped tightly in a fist at his side, his teeth almost grinding against each other, “It ain’t ever gonna be over, Rose.  _Never_.” She couldn’t move between him and the wall. Her hand went up to his chest and as she pushed, the heat from his body burned against the palm of her hand. His lips pressed roughly and eagerly against hers as his hands ran down to her shirt. A moan sounded from her as he pushed her hard against the wall, feeling his hands slip under her shirt and wrap around her waist. He broke the kiss and looked down at her.

Her eyes looked up at his, she felt broken, lost...she hated him and yet, he made her burn with a desire she couldn’t ignore this time. Her hands went up to his face as she pulled him close, kissing him back. He groaned deeply, holding her close as he worked at her clothing and her doing the same to him. He pulled her away from the wall and moved her over to the bed, her hands working at his vest and his shirt. The back of her legs hit the frame of the bed as she fell back and looked up at him, her blouse was off and her pants were opened, wrapping loosely around her waist.

Dutch threw off his shirt and vest, before he bent down and grabbed onto her pants, pulling them off slowly. He threw them to the side and crawled down between her legs. Her nails ran down the length of his torso before she unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants, yanking them down past his hips and ass. His lips laced with hers again, as he shrugged out of his pants and kicked them to the ground.  He grabbed onto his cock and rubbed the tip of it against her soaking cunt. Rose whimpered at the pleasure coursing through her as the tips of her fingers dug into his ass cheeks, urging him to hurry.

A smile played along his lips, “Eager, are we?”

Her breathing was ragged, “Please—Dutch—“ her voice was soft as her eyes looked up at his. How could he deny her such pleasures? She arched her head back, her moan high pitched as he slid inside of her. The wet and warmth squeezed tightly around his cock as he sheathed himself fully. At first he moved slowly, thrusting into her, his head resting against hers, his hips hitting against hers. Her hands moved from his back and laced her fingers through his hair, pulling him close.

“Mmm—tell me what you want--“ he whispered against her lips. Many feelings bubbled up to the surface in that moment.

“You—“ she breathed out and moaned as he thrust into her hard,  still feeling every inch of her walls tightening around his length. His lips locking hard with hers as he thrust into faster, the sound skin on skin echoed in their ears.

“Rose—“ he moaned out, slowing down a bit to savour the moment. Her legs wrapped around his waist locking him in place. Her fingers lightly danced in his hair as her eyes looked up at his, seeing him so dazed with lust and maybe even love. The feeling of tightness wrapped around her midsection as Dutch pressed closer to her, fucking her. Her breathing hard as their lips brushed against each others, the feel of his cock hitting hard inside her.

“Dutch—“ she cried out, “Fuck—I’m—“

He moved quickly and rolled with her onto his back, her legs now straddling him as he thrust upwards into her aching core. Her hands pressed against his chest, trying to keep herself up. The tips of his fingers dug into her hips, feeling her walls pulse around his cock. Her head arched back moaning loudly as her orgasm wracked through her. “C’mere—“ he breathed out and pulled her down against his chest, moving his hips up against hers, he was close, so close.

“Cum for me—“ she whispered, kissing him roughly. Her hips hitting in time with his, “fill me up—“ her voice taunted and teased. In response, he sat up quickly, fucking her hard and holding her close. The sounds of them grew louder as he reached his climax and came, groaning and grunting as he filled her with hot spurts of cum. She pulled his head against the crook of her neck as they stay locked together like that and after some time he laid back down, letting her get off. She turned her head and looked down at him, his chest rising up and down slowly, trying to calm his heart beat.

As she went to move from the bed, Dutch grabbed onto her arm, pulling her back, “Where you going—“ his voice was raspy and low.

“Ain’t ya plannin’ a bank robbery?”

“That can wait—“ he pulled her lips down to his, kissing her tenderly and softly, “Don’t end this so soon—“

“I gotta go, Dutch—“ she watched his eyes, “this can’t happen again.”

A dark look invaded his eyes, “You and I both know, that it will.” She pulled away from him and grabbed onto her clothing, changing back into them, it must have been really late after all that. After changing she walked back over to the bed and looked down at him, “You don’t have to go.” His hand grabbed onto hers.

She bent down and pressed her lips softly against his cheek, “There’s so many things I wanna tell ya, Dutch. But I just can’t.”

“What does that even mean, Rose?”

The floor creaked as she walked over to the door and opened it, turning to look at him, “You’ll find out one day.” The door shut tightly behind her as she left and walked over to Arthur’s room and shut the door. Throughout the whole night, she tossed and turned, not really being able to find the will to sleep. For most of the night she stared up at the ceiling, dosing off only a few times before being woken up by a noise or some other. The morning came quickly and she was exhausted as she left Arthur’s room and walked down the stairs, seeing Hosea, Dutch and Arthur around a table.

“Karen, Tilly, Abigail. I sent them all. They all say the same thing. There’s no more than one armed guard. And the police—“ Hosea pointed at the map, “it’s a city, there are police, but as far as we can tell...the patrols will all be going this way, when Abigail and I cause the diversion and that’s the opportunity—“

“What—“ Rose chimed in, making Hosea look up at her, “Ya sure, ya don’t want me to go?” She walked over and sat down at the table, “I--I can definitely cause more of a commotion—“

“As true as that is, m’dear—“ Dutch looked over to her, “You don’t look like you’re in any shape for anything.”

“I’m helping either way, Dutch. Been through a lot worse than losing sleep.” She groaned and rested her head against the table.

“What do you think, Arthur?”

He sighed, “well, I don’t see we have a lot of choice. We linger around here we know we’re dead.”

“But the plan?” Dutch asked.

“We got a decent bunch. We know how to fight. Those city cops, they don’t seem so tough. As long as we move fast. I reckon doing it in the day, with a distraction. If that’s what Hosea is saying? It’s as good a plan as any.”

“I—I think I agree.”

Rose raised her head and looked at the lot of them, “Ya think ya agree? What’s the issue Dutch?” she stood up from the table and stretched, feeling a few of her bones crack and ache.

“I’m just making sure.”

“Every plan is a good plan if we execute it properly. Every problem we had was because we did not, execute, properly. Even Blackwater from my understanding. “

“You’re right.” Dutch stood up and looked at the lot of them, “Let’s rob this bastard. Everyone get some rest. We ride out in the morning. Look smart, travel light.” He looked over to Rose, “So, you gonna go with Hosea and Abigail, or you wanna ride with the boys?”

“I’ll ride with the boys.” She shook her head, feeling mighty exhausted.

“Good. Go sleep, you’re gonna need it.” Dutch walked out of the room.

Rose looked over to Hosea, “Ya alright, Old man?”

“I’m fine, m’dear. Get some sleep. Just gonna...go over everything again.”

She walked over and pecked him quickly on the cheek, “Well—“ she laughed for a moment, “good night then—“ it didn’t matter the time, she did go back to bed and sleep throughout the entire day and night to the next morning. She tried to clean herself up the best she could before heading out with the boys. A smile played along her lips as she watched Arthur change, “didn’t realize this was a fancy robbing—“

Arthur looked over to her, “we get this and we can go.”

“Yeah—“ she walked over to him, fixing his neck tie, “heard them words before.”

“You okay?” his eyes ran along her features, she was beautiful, but she still looked exhausted as hell, “you don’t need to come—“

“I ain’t stayin’ here, Arthur. I’m comin’ and helpin’.” Her lips pressed deeply against his before she pulled away, “Now let’s go.”

Rose walked with Arthur down the stairs and out the front door of the house, Dutch looked over to the two of them, “You both got everything?”

“Sure—“

“Yeah, minus m’horse—“ Rose groaned, poor thing, she thought maybe someone or something got to it. Arthur walked over with her to his horse as he climbed up and helped her up.

Hosea and Abigail walked over to the coach and climbed up onto it, “So—we rob ourselves a bank and within six weeks, we’re living life anew in a tropical idyll spending the last of our days as banana farmers? Let’s get out of this godforsaken place and go rob ourselves a bank!”

They galloped hard and fast along the roads on their way towards Saint Denis, “This is it, gentlemen. The last one.”

“Where have we heard that before?” John chimed in, but she was thinking the same damn thing.

Dutch didn’t like that response at all, “What has happened to you, John? You lost all your heart.”

Arthur trotted up alongside John, Rose giving John a knowing look, “I’m just trying to stay real about all this.”

“ “Real”. Oh, how I detest that word. So devoid of imagination.”

“How soon are we shipping out?” Bill asked.

“Soon as we get a passage organized. Boat down to Argentina and another around the cape.”

Rose leaned against Arthur, talking in his ear, “I’m worried, Arthur.”

“There ain’t nothing to be worried about, Rose. It’ll work out.”

She laughed softly against his ear, “Ya usually doubt, Arthur. Where’s that man now?”

“Like Hosea said, execute properly.”

Her hands tightened around his waist, “I know.” She closed her eyes for a moment.

“You’ll be okay, Rose. I ain’t leavin’ ya behind.”

“That ain’t what I’m worried ‘bout.”

Dutch’s voice chimed over everyones, “The plan, one last time—Hosea and Abigail draw out the police, we go in calm and fast. John and Lenny, secure the front doors. Javier takes the side exit. Bill, Micah and Charles, control the crowd. Me, Rose and Arthur deal with the bank manager and vault. Got it?”

“Got it—“ Rose yelled out, everyone else answering the same.

As they neared the bridge over to Saint Denis, Hosea, Abigail and a few others hurried on ahead as the rest of them trotted through town, easy and slowly as to try and not draw attention to them. As they neared the Bank, Rose began to feel more nervous. It wasn’t like she hadn’t robbed a place before but, this was a huge city and cops would be crawling all over them like last time, if not something worse. Arthur turned his head for a moment, “Rose—“

“What—“ he could hear the panic in her voice.

“I love you.”

She smiled and yet it didn’t help, “I love ya, too.” She whispered back as they stopped outside the bank.

“There’s Bill, let’s hitch up here.”

Arthur climbed down and hitched his horse. Rose hopped down and looked over to the bank, walking over to Dutch.

“Robbing thieves, it ain’t no crime at all. Folk like this...they stole what this country could have been. Stay cool, fellers. Act natural. Wait for Hosea to do his thing.”

“And how to we know—“ A huge explosion erupted throughout the sky, shaking the ground around them a little. Rose turned her head seeing the cloud of smoke, “Well that answered m’question.”

Dutch laughed, loudly, “I love that Hosea! He’s a true artist.” They all slowly walked across the street and over to the bank doors. Rose grabbed onto her bandana and pulled it up, covering her face. They reached the doors, pulling out their weapons, “Let’s go—“ Dutch said as they pushed through the doors, “Ladies and Gentlmen, this is a hold up. Don’t do nothing stupid—“ a few screams echoed in the building, Rose kept her gun pointed at the civilians. She walked with Arthur over to the Bank manager, keeping her gun tight in her hand, “Okay, now then. Arthur, would you please have Senor Bank Manager here open up the vault?”

Rose walked over to Dutch, and looked over him. He wasn’t stupid, he could see the doubt in her eyes. But for now it seemed that things were going okay. For now... Arthur kept his gun on the manager as he quickly tried to open the vault. It took some time and Arthur threatening the man, but he got it open. Rose went in with Arthur and looked down at the safes, “That’s a lot of ‘em, what ya wanna do?”

“Bill’s got some dynamite—“

Rose shook her head, “Naw, too noisy. Best do this the quiet way—“ she bend down beside another safe and slowly turned the knob, waiting for the right click before moving it the other way. Arthur got the first safe opened and grabbed all the cash inside. They didn’t know how much time they had, but it seemed like it was closing in on them fast. Rose finished and opened the safe, grabbing the cash and shoving it into the satchel, “Rich bastards—“ she mumbled and moved over to the next safe, working as fast as she could to get it open. It wasn’t until they heard Bill yell and then John, that diverted their attention.

“Get out here!”

“We got trouble! Looks like the law--”

Rose looked over to Arthur and hurried out of the vault, handing over the satchels to Bill as they went over and peeked out the windows. It was the Pinkertons. Who else would it be? However they had Hosea and Rose could feel her heart dropping hard and quick.

“Come out, it’s over!” Milton yelled out, “Dutch, get out here! Get out here now!” 

“Someone must have squealed.”

John looked over to Rose, “You should have never gone after Bronte, Rose.” Perhaps it was her fault they were in that mess. She went to go and run outside when Dutch grabbed onto her and pulled her back.

“Mr.Milton—“ Dutch cleared his throat, “let my friend go or folks...they are gonna get shot unnecessarily.”

“Your friend?” Milton was pissed, annoyed and didn’t have time for bullshit, “ha, why would I do that?”

“Come on, Milton—“ Rose’s breathing began to elevate as she looked out the window seeing Hosea beneath Milton’s clutches.

“It’s over. No more bargains. No more deals.”

“Milton—This is America. You can always cut a deal.”

“I’ve given you enough chances.” Milton shoved Hosea out onto the street, his gun pointed at him.

“No—God no—“ She pulled away from Dutch and ran near the doors, her eyes caught Hosea’s for a moment before a bullet went into his chest as he fell down onto the ground. Everything felt still for a moment, nothing matter, nothing fucking mattered. Her teeth grinded together as she looked up at Milton, her eyes angry and filled with rage.

“There’s your deal, Dutch.”

 Swiftly and quickly she pulled out her pistol and began to shoot down a few of the men that were littered along the streets, her scream of agony echoing throughout the building. Before any of the cops could shoot her, John grabbed onto her and pulled her from the opening, “C’mon Rose—“ John tried to talk her down, “focus—“

“R—right—“ She pulled away from him and went into cover, shooting as much as she could. But the tears from her face kept clouding her vision, making it hard to see. Hosea’s body laid on the streets, making her heart ache more and more as she tried to keep her focus. There would be time to grieve later, if they made it out alive.

“Hold them back, I got an idea!” Dutch moved from the wall.

She couldn’t help it, “Yeah, cause this one worked out great, Dutch—“

“Just keep shooting!”

“What are we doing, Dutch?” Arthur yelled out.

“Just keep shooting! I need time to think!”

Rose wiped away the tears from her eyes, pushing her emotions down, “Then hurry the fuck up!” she yelled out, taking a few more shots. But it felt like it was never ending. More men came. More men died.

“What about Abigail?” John asked.

Rose looked over to him, “Milton would have shown her, John. I think she’s fine—“

“I hope you’re right.”

Dutch finally came out of hiding, “Arthur, you alive?”

“Just about!”

“GET OVER HERE!” he motioned Arthur over. Rose moved from the window, trying to find a better place for cover, she took a few more shot as she threw herself over the counter and fell onto the floor between Dutch and Arthur.

“Sorry—“ she got up and knelt down, looking between them, “What’s the plan, Dutch?”

He handed Arthur a roll of dynamite, “Take this and blow a hole through that wall.” Arthur hurried out from cover and ran over to the wall. Rose kept down, feeling all sorts of things at the moment. Her eyes hurt, her heart was pounding fast, “we’ll be okay, Rose—“

“Ain’t the time for that shit, Dutch—“ she came up and shot off her gun again, “Fuck—Hosea—“ her voice wavered. Arthur came back over and shot off his gun, as a loud explosion echoed throughout the building. Dutch covered her, waiting for the smoke to clear.

“Now get up to the roof and draw their fire! Both of you—NOW! We’ll follow you up there.”

Rose forced herself to move through the broken wall as she climbed up the ladder, Arthur following shortly behind. As she peeked over the edge off the roof and began to shoot her pistol, reloading as quick as her hands would let her. Arthur moved down beside her with a scoped rifle and handed her his.

“Use this—“

She grabbed onto the rifle and poked it over the edge as she shot.

“If you’re gonna move—move now!” Arthur yelled down. Rose took down a few of the men along the balcony. But there was always more.

“What is going on down there? Where is everyone?”

A few of them had made it up, “We lost control of the bank...the others are trying to hold them off.”

Rose looked as a wagon came up, with something on it, “What the fuck is that?”

“It’s a gatling gun!” Arthur yelled out, trying to shoot the man wielding the damn thing. After more men and more bullets, Rose pulled herself away from the ledge as the others climbed up the ladder. Arthur hurried over as Dutch climbed up.

“We lost John.”

“Killed?” Arthur asked.

“Arrested...I couldn’t help.”

Rose for some reason she didn’t believe it. But she couldn’t judge him, not based on words, “Then we need to get outta here fellers or else we’ll be joinin’ him.”

“What do you suggest then, Ms.Reeds—“

Arthur pointed out, “Me and Lenny will try and find a way across the roofs. So if you’ll cover us.”

“Sure, sure. Go on!”

Arthur and Lenny ran off ahead of the group. While Rose stayed behind helping the others stay off the law. But then an echo of Arthur yelling pulled her attention away from shooting as she ran towards him, seeing Arthur knelt on the ground, “Lenny—he’s—he’s dead—“

“Oh god, no!” Dutch didn’t sound all that upset about it, but maybe she was just hearing things.

Rose bent down beside Arthur, “We gotta go—“ she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the sadness, “We gotta go, Arthur—“

The others ran by them, as she tried to pull Arthur away, she knew it was killing him and knew that damn well. She grabbed onto Arthurs hands and helped him up as they ran and jumped over to the next roof, her body hit hard against the tile as she landed and groaned in pain as Arthur helped her up.

“All of you, we gotta keep quiet and keep moving or we’re gonna be dead in the next few minutes. Follow me, one at a time. Arthur you go next. Come on, follow me.” Arthur left and followed, then Rose and then everyone else. There was a burning anger inside of her that was dying to get out, Hosea and Lenny...this couldn’t be happening. “Keep it down, there’s law everywhere.” They followed Dutch along, jumping down onto balconies and then onto more roof tops, as they snuck their way to salvation. Dutch hurried over to a window, the building looked abandoned and perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad place to hide out, “Let’s see if we can get into that building. He grabbed onto the wood and moved it, “Arthur...Arthur! We can get in here.” Eventually everyone started to pile in, Dutch going first, “I don’t believe it.”

“They knew we were coming...Just like your ferry job in Blackwater—“ Arthur pointed to Micah as he climbed through the window.

“Ain’t nothing like that!” Micah gritted through his teeth. They went off and all piled into an abandoned room. Bill went onto the floor, seemed like he had been injured.

“Well, what now?”

Dutch shut the door behind him, “I don’t know. I don’t—“

That moment of anger set in as her fist made contact with Dutch’s face, dinging him near his right eye. His body hit hard against the door, as he looked up at Rose, seeing the anger seething from her, “Well look at that. I have a plan. Some fuckin’ plan, Dutch!” she yelled at him before her eyes scrunched up in pain, “Hosea—Lenny? Was it worth it? Was it worth it for all that fuckin’ cash?”

“You think I intended this to happen? Don’t act like we all didn’t lose someone, Rose. Hosea he—“ Dutch watched the pain in her eyes, “He was everything to this gang.”

“He was the closest thing to a father, now I ain’t got nothin’...” Her words hit Dutch hard, she still had him. Hell, she still had Arthur. She looked away from him and walked over to the other side of the room before sitting on the ground and curling up into a ball.

Arthur looked over Dutch before looking out the window, “How long we gonna stay here? A-a few hours?”

Dutch paced around, “We go back to camp...they’re gonna get every last one of us. I know they’re gonna be watching the roads...” he finally stopped pacing, “I got it...a boat!”

“What you mean?” Arthur turned to look at him.

“We stay here till night fall, then we sneak down to the docks, we get ourselves outta here.”

Rose drowned out everyone as she sat there. The sight of Hosea’s body lying on the streets was haunting her, tormenting her and she couldn’t bear it... It wasn’t until Arthur came over and knelt down in front of her, that she was dragged away from her thoughts, “Rose—“ he whispered, her gaze going up to his.

“How much more, does Dutch hafta lose...before he realizes that we can’t keep doin’ this shit...” a couple of tears slid down her face, “I’m thirty years old and I feel like I’m on m’death bed already, Arthur.”

He sat down beside her and held her close, “That’s the way it is.”

 

They all sat there until night fall and when the time came, Rose opted out of going with the rest of them.

Dutch stood there looking at her, confused, “They’ll be watching the streets, Rose. They’ll be everywhere... Come with us.”

She looked out the window, “Naw, I’ll leave the way we came. Stay on the roofs...should be able to sneak across town and make it out in one piece.” At this point, it wouldn’t be a damn shame if they did catch her...She turned and smiled for a moment, “Ya go on. Hopefully I’ll see ya’ll in a few weeks...” She walked over to him and hugged him, “Don’t get these ones killed now...” she paused, “ ‘Cept Micah, go to town on that one.“

“Rose—“ he sighed, wanting to linger for a few moments but pulled away to go wait with the others.

She looked over to Arthur before walking over to him and kissing him deeply, “Ya come back now, ya hear?” slowly she moved over to the window and moved the wooden plank, “I love ya, Arthur.”

“I love you too., Rose.” Arthur smiled for a moment before heading down the stairs where the others were. Rose climbed through the window and began to make her trek along the roofs. Walking quietly and trying not to make a lot of noise and keeping her eyes out. As she made her way along, something that Hosea said to her long while ago, played in her mind as she walked.

_“My pa used to say you stare into the fire long enough, you can see the whole world pass by. I always thought that was the most stupid thing I ever heard. Aside from all the other stupid things he used to say, of course. But now I know exactly what he meant.”_

_“Guess that’s age for ya. It’s humbled better men than me, and it’s sure humbling me good and proper. Like I deserve...I ain’t been a very good man. I know that, but right now as I approach my reckoning, guess one thing I could do is try to teach you about many errors of my ways.”_

_“I ain’t repenting...except for one thing. I wish I had acquired wisdom at less of a price. Except my head was too damn hard to learn quicker. Stupidity is all I am sorry for. Worse stupidity of all is not listening to them as knows better.”_

She stopped for a moment and leaned against the wall of a building, closing her eyes and covering her mouth, trying to stifle the sob that wished to escape her throat, “I’m sorry, Hosea...Lenny— I’m so sorry—“ a few tears slid down her face, it wasn’t the best time for tears, but nothing was gonna stop them from falling.

After some time, she finally wiped the tears from her face and continued her way along the roof tops, till finally she made it to the edge of the city and climbed down back to the ground, sneaking her way along till she made it outside Saint Denis and headed back to camp. All the while making sure, no one was following her.


	6. Lakay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hosea...Lenny...Everything is a goddamn mess. 
> 
> Dutch seems half-crazed by everything we've gone through...
> 
> Rose...something's different with her. She's not the same... She's not--I am afraid for her.
> 
> What the hell is going on?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I am nearing the two last parts (Life is getting in the way at the moment) But, my soul...my poor soul. It's heartbreaking to have this ending in a few chapters. I love Rose, I think she's one of the best characters I've ever made. I love her and now I must go and write some more. UGH MY SOUL T^T 

The walk back to Shady Belle seemed like it took forever and the only good thing was that no one was following her, at least from what she could see. Rose’s heart felt heavy with each step she took, knowing that when she got back...Hosea wouldn’t be there, ever again. She felt a sadness for Lenny too, wondering if maybe she should have spent more time getting to know him. They’d have to leave Shady Belle and go hide out somewhere, but she wasn’t even sure where they could even begin to start. The night seemed peaceful as she made her way and it took some time by foot but she made it back. As she walked down towards the house, she saw everyone sitting outside and around the fire, including Abigail, it was good to see her alive.

They all turned their heads hearing her footsteps coming towards them. It didn’t matter anymore at this time, whether or not she cried in front of them. It was too much to hold in, Arthur wasn’t around and who knew when the boys would be coming back. Rose stopped a few feet away, looking at the lot of them. A few tears slid down her face as she looked at them, Abigail stood up and walked over to her, “Where’s John?”

Rose took her time speaking, “He—got arrested...”

Abigail was a little relieved at the answer, at least he wasn’t dead...yet, “Dutch, Arthur? What about the rest of ‘em?” She was finding it hard to answer her, “Rose!”

“They said they was—gonna take a boat—get away...” her eyes looked up at Abigail’s, as more tears slid down her face, “But Hosea...Lenny, they didn’t—“

Abigail pressed her hand to her lips, “Oh no.”

Sadie walked over to Rose and pulled her away from the lot of them, “C’mon now...” Rose wasn’t going to fight it and followed along with her. Sadie looked over to her, “I know it ain’t easy, losin’ someone ya loved and cared ‘bout.”

“It shoulda been me. I should be dead on that street. Not him,” she closed her eyes, feeling her head throbbing in pain, “I shoulda went with ‘em. Maybe--it wouldn’t have turned out the way it did...”

Sadie knows loss, she knows it from having her husband murdered and taken away from her, “Ya can’t blame yourself. Ya can’t change it, Rose. I know you’re stronger than this, whatever you’re feelin’, it’ll pass. Or you’ll bury deep within ya and then one day...” Rose looked over at her, “you’ll murder all those son of bitches that hurt ya...” Rose wasn’t sure she was talking about her anymore at this point.

“Thank ya.” Rose looked at her, “Really.”

“When you’re feeling better, come to talk to me in the mornin’, we both know we can’t stay here. We need to leave. Strauss told us about a place, near Lakay. Might be worth looking into.”

“I don’t think I’d be much help, Sadie.”

She laughed, “between ya, Charles and Ms.Grimshaw, I think I can get us up and gone.”

“Charles? He made it back?”

“Yeah, he’s headed out somewhere but, he’ll be back in the morning.” Sadie looked over at Rose, “get some rest.”

Rose nodded her head and walked over and into the house, not sure if she could even sleep at the moment. But she turned her head and saw Reverend sitting in the other room, at the table with a bottle in his hand, “Reverend...”

He looked up at her as she made her way over and sat down, “Ms.Reeds, what brings you here?”

“You’re—you’re in the house, Reverend...” Her voice was tired and her head was pounding, “Figured I’d sit with ya. Should sleep but—I don’t think I can, not when—“ she closed her eyes, trying to not cry, “not when we’ve lost so much today.”

“I’ve lost m’family, m’faith, everything.” He took a swig of his drink.

Rose nodded her head, “I just—how do ya deal with knowin’ ya ain’t gonna see them no more?” Reverend looked up at her, seeing her face fighting the sadness, “Hosea—Lenny...I’m scared, Reverend. I’m scared for those people out there—“

Reverend placed is hand on hers and handed over the bottle, “Think you need this more than I do.”

“I—I probably shouldn’t...” Her eyes stared down at the bottle, feeling a few tears fall, before she looked up at him, “I have a son. He’ll be twelve soon...”

“Where is he now?”

“In New Austin, living with some folk on a ranch.” She laughed softly, “I miss him and I love him...yet I feel like I failed him along the way. I know that he’s better out there, but—that’s m’son. That’s...Dutch’s son.”

“He don’t know, does he?”

She shook her head in response and bent down, resting her head against the Reverend’s hand as she started to cry. He wasn’t sure what to do, so he sat there letting her cry it out unsure of how long it would take. After some time the Reverend placed his other hand on the top of her head, drawing her attention, “Go rest, Ms. Reeds.”

“Yes. I—“ she pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes, “I will try.” Her footsteps were heavy as she made her way up the stairs, deciding to crash in Arthur’s room for the next little while, it wasn’t like he’d need it. The bed felt cold as she sat down on it, staring at the floor for a few moments, unsure if she could even sleep at this point. Yes, she was sad Lenny had died, but Hosea...it made her heart ache, knowing she’d never see him again. Hug him. Call him Old Man. “Hosea...” she whispered out to the room, “I miss ya. Everything is...I feel it’s gonna get worse, now that you’re not here no more...”

Her head hit the pillow hard as she stared up at the ceiling wondering if she’d ever fall asleep. She looked over at the photo on the wall of the Van Der Linde Gang, seeing everyone standing there, including her, standing right between Dutch and Arthur. Her fingers grabbed onto the photo as she pulled it off the wall and looked at it. The thoughts of when she first met them came into her mind, playing over and over again on a loop. Hosea was much younger then, a handsome man in his time and a good man, whether he believed it or not.

_Rose stood there as she held her father’s gun tight in her hand and shook. The sight of her father’s body was a grim one as he laid there and bleed out on the floor. The sound of Agatha cries pulled her away from the corpse as she hurried over to her and grabbed onto her sister and hugged her tightly, “S’gonna be okay, Agatha...” she whispered._

_“What happened to—father—“ Her voice was so small and meek._

_Rose pulled her tight against her chest, “Don’t matter now. He won’t be hurtin’ ya no more—I won’t let anyone hurt ya...” Her sister didn’t seem bothered by the blood that was splattered on Rose’s face and clothing._

_“I’m scared—“ Her sister looked up at her with her hazel eyes, “Where we gonna go?"_

_Rose looked over to her father’s body, “I—I don’t know. We can stay here for a little while...” she pulled some money out of her pocket, thought it wasn’t nearly enough, “Then—then I’ll go and get us some money—“_

_“From where...?”_

_A 13 year old robbing people, that would be something, “I’ll worry ‘bout that, Agatha.” She pulled away from her and walked over, picking up the pistol from the floor and looking down at it before placing it in her small satchel. Her and Agatha hid in a room for a long while as Rose tried to figure out how and when to take the body out of the house, without getting caught._

_It was a few hours later, when they heard the sound of something or someone kicking at the door. The sound jolted Agatha awake and in a panicked cry. Rose grabbed onto her and tried to soothe her, “S’okay—Agatha please—“_

_The footsteps neared their door; Rose held onto her sister and waited for whatever was behind the door. When it opened, a man with grey, almost silver hair stood there and looked down at the two of them, “Got a—couple of kids back here.”_

_Rose watched him, afraid and unsure. She still had the pistol if need be. But he bend down and her grip tightened on Agatha, “What ya want—“ her voice shook as she spoke._

_He looked and saw the blood that littered her clothing and face, “We ain’t gonna hurt ya.”_

_“I don’t know that—“ Agatha looked up from Rose’s chest and pulled away quickly, “Agatha!”she yelled out, Rose gripping tightly onto her satchel._

_Agatha crawled along the bed and over to the man as she looked up at him, “We need a home. Father’s gone—and don’t got no one else.” She grabbed onto the man tightly._

_Rose moved along the bed and placed her feet on the floor, still not sure about him, “Your name?”_

_“Hosea Matthews m’dear.” He stood up with Agatha, who was still latched onto him and looked down at Rose, “And yours?”_

_“Rose and that’s-- Agatha.”_

_Hosea extended out his hand to her, “C’mon then.” Rose wasn’t sure but, she needed to go wherever Agatha would and grabbed onto his hand as they walked out of the room and over to a couple of fellers that were looking down at her father’s corpse. One had slicked back black hair and the other short light brown hair._

_“Well, the bounty said dead or alive, Dutch.”_

_“I know, Arthur...well—get him and throw him onto my horse. I’ll take it in.” Dutch looked over to Hosea as he stood there with Agatha and Rose. He smiled for a moment, “Found something, did you?”_

_“They need a home. Don’t got no one else.” Agatha rested her head on Hosea’s shoulder. Arthur grabbed onto the corpse and dragged it out of the house._

_Dutch walked over to Hosea and looked at the girls before his gaze went back to Hosea’s, “Bring them, but we need to talk, Hosea.” He nodded his head and walked with the girls back out to his horse, “Take ‘em back to camp, Arthur and I will go and collect. Find a place for ‘em to sleep.” Hosea climbed up onto is horse, Rose helping Agatha up as she sat in front of him while Rose sat behind him for the journey home._

_They reached camp, it wasn’t overly big, but it was cozy, better than being stuck in that house of theirs. Hosea helped the girls down before he hopped down and walked with them around the camp, “It isn’t much but...it’s something.” He looked down at the girls._

_Rose looked over at Agatha, “S’okay.” Agatha held tightly onto her hand._

_He smiled down at the both of them and began to set up a place for them to sleep, a little makeshift tent for the two of them. For most of the day they stayed in that tent and when night fall came and the two other men came back, Agatha had long fallen asleep. But Rose snuck out from the tent, listening to the lot of them talk._

_“You can’t be serious, Hosea. Raise kids? Do I look like a parent to you?”_

_“No, ya sure as hell don’t. They got nowhere else, Dutch. Are ya that heartless?” he motioned over to Arthur, “Ya took him in. He was no more than Rose’s age when ya did.”_

_Rose moved over to the tent slowly, holding onto her satchel as she neared the lot of them. Hosea turned his head seeing her, “Rose, what are ya doing up?”_

_She slowly made her way over to Dutch and looked up at him, “Mr.Dutch...” He bent down beside her and looked at her, “Ya don’t have to—worry ‘bout m’sister. I can take care of her—I always have.” She reached into her satchel and pulled out the money she had saved and held it out to him. A saddened look crossed his face, “I can do work—this is all I have right now but—“ her face scrunched up in sadness, “Please don’t send us away...Or at least keep Agatha, keep her safe and I can go—“_

_Hosea went to step in when Dutch held up his hand, “No, you sweet thing. You don’t need to go, either of you.” He stood up and grabbed onto her hand, “let’s take a walk.”_

_She nodded her head and walked with Dutch as he spoke to her about their way of living, how corrupt the world was turning and his dreams for his gang, though Rose didn’t really understand most of it, “Know how to read?” he asked._

_Rose shook her head, “Not really. A little bit...I think.”_

_Dutch laughed and smiled, “Know how to shoot?”_

_“A little bit. Not good though.”_

_He chuckled, “We’ll fix that. Just need to practice.”_

_She looked up at him, “Can ya teach me?”_

_Dutch stopped walking and knelt beside her, “I can—all sorts of things.”_

_Hosea walked over to the two of them and placed is hand on her shoulder, “C’mon—let’s get ya into bed. Long day tomorrow.”_

_“Okay.” She gave Dutch a hug and wrapped her arms tightly around him,“Thank ya, Mr.Dutch.” she smiled and walked with Hosea back to her tent. Agatha was still sound asleep when she got back. Rose looked up to Hosea, “Thank ya too, Mr.Hosea.”_

_He laughed and smiled down at her, “Call me Hosea.”_

_She went to walk into her tent when she stopped and looked up at him, her eyes big and round, but sad, “Our father, he was a bad man—“ she went into her pocket and pulled out his pistol. Hosea closed his eyes for a moment, “I—had to protect Agatha. I—“_

_“Get some sleep, m’dear,” Hosea knelt down and placed his hand gently on the gun as he looked at her, “This’ll all seem like a bad dream one day.”_

_A few tears slid down her face as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and cried, “What—if I can’t protect her no more?”_

_“She won’t always need ya protecting her, Rose.” She pulled away and looked at him, “you’ll grow up and so will she.” Her eyes watched his, who was this man, truly? And why was he being so nice to her and Agatha. He seemed like a good man and that’s...that’s what they needed. “Now—stop with them tears and go to bed.” His hand reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks, “things’ll be better in the morning.”_

The morning came quicker than Rose wanted it too and it was by some miracle that she had fallen asleep, for a little while. She sat up in Arthur’s bed and looked around the room before looking down at the photo she still had in her hand. The pain of yesterday lingered in her as she placed the photo in her pocket and made her way down the stairs and out of the house. Sadie was sat around the camp fire with a few others, Rose saw Charles and walked over to him, she wanted to know what happened to the boys, “why ain’t ya with ‘em? Did they make it out alright?“

Charles looked over to her, hearing the panic in her voice, “There were a few men on the docks, Dutch needed to get everyone to the boat. I played distraction while the others made off.” Rose hung onto every word, “I don’t know much other than that. I can only hope they got away.”

Rose nodded her head in agreement, “Here’s hoping…” she walked over and poured herself some coffee.

“How are you holding up?”

The coffee burned against her lips as she took a sip and it felt comforting, “I don’t know, Charles. I just…don’t know anymore.” Her eyes felt heavy and tired, “just wonderin’…” she paused, Charles waiting on her words.

“Wondering what?”

Her eyes went over to his, “how many more lives are goin’ to be needlessly lost…” He nodded his head, there was some truth in it. They’ve lost quiet a few over the months, even a couple of people before she even made it back to the group. So many lives…

Sadie walked over to Rose as she finished her cup, “ya coming with? Gonna go and check out that spot Strauss mentioned. We need to get everyone outta here.”

“I know, Sadie. Let’s go then.”  

Sadie started walking over to her horse with Rose following close behind and borrowing one of the other horses. Lily still hadn’t been found and as the days went on, Rose was sure Lily was never coming back. “there’s a small village north of Saint Denis. It’s in Lakay, Strauss said the locals are terrified of the place.”

“Well, that sounds like a grand place—“ Rose shook her head.

“Just gonna go make sure that there are no vermin livin’ there.”

Rose climbed up onto a horse, “between the two of us, I’m sure we can clean the place out. You’re a crazy bitch and so am I.”

“Damn straight.” Sadie laughed for a moment as they trotted out of camp, “Charles keep an eye out while we’re gone.”

“Of course.” He responded as they disappeared from the camp grounds and went along the road towards Saint Denis.

“I ain’t one for askin’ this but—“ Sadie looked over to Rose, “what’s with ya and Arthur? Ya two an item or something?”

Rose laughed softly, “I’d say we are. I love him and he loves me…” the fact that he wasn’t around made her down and with what happened. She couldn’t really talk to him.

“Okay— then what the hell is goin’ on with you and Dutch.” Rose peeked at her from the corner of her eye, “ain’t never seen a man so—“ she stopped as if it had triggered something within her. A memory perhaps? Rose wasn’t sure.

“Sadie, if I even tried to explain it all to ya, you’d be dead by the time I’m done talkin’—“ Rose sighed, “that being said…Dutch wants something and he’s intendin’ on havin’ it…regardless of what I say—but, he’s changin’ and I think not for the better…”

“Change is a part of life, Rose. We’ve all changed.”

“Some more than others.” They galloped past Saint Denis and headed up north to Lakay. There was a few small cabins and of course it was near the damn swamp. They came into the area and looked around, not seeing anyone. Though there seemed to be a few pikes with some heads shoved onto them. Rose shivered, how could one be so savage? “Seems clear—but I could be wrong…”

Sadie hoped down from her horse, “C’mon— let’s make sure this place is good and cleared out.” She pulled out her gun and looked over to Rose, “could get everyone here by tonight, if we move quick enough.”

“Yeah, can imagine the Pinkerton’s are hot on the trail...” Rose hopped down from her horse and pulled out her pistol, keeping it close. “It’s too damn quiet, Sadie—to be honest it’s creeping m’out—“

“Get down—!” Sadie hissed through her teeth, seeing quite a few men come out from the cabins, but they were in nothing but overalls. Rose hid behind a tree and peeked out; it didn’t look like they had weapons. Rose looked over to Sadie, waiting on something, should they just shoot? It wasn’t until one of them brought over a horse, Rose’s horse, that the idea of firing her gun wasn’t a good idea. There was some relief, knowing Lily hadn’t perished but then one of the fellers started speaking.

“Found this damn thing wandering the swamp—“

“Lily…” Rose whispered to herself.

“It don’t seem to like ya, Henry—“

He walked over to Lily and went to pet her when, she lifted her front hooves and neighed loudly, no she didn’t like him one bit. “Just shoot the damn thing, too temperamental for me.” Henry laughed, “maybe we’s can cook her up. Bet it would taste mighty fine—“

Rose aimed her gun and shot over at the one fella holding onto Lily, as he fell dead onto the ground. The few others ran and hid for cover, “bastards—“ Sadie came out from cover and ran over shooting as quick as she could. Chasing after a few of the fellers that tried to run off.

“One ran into the cabin—“ Rose yelled out and made her way over, kicking in the door, while Sadie dealt with the others outside, “come out— or ya won’t like what I’m gonna do—“

“Ya won’t like it either—“ she heard the man whisper before something hard hit along her head, it wasn’t enough to knock her out, but it was enough to bring her onto the floor. The gun she had, flew out of her hand and went for her knife. The man, also known as Henry, straddled her chest, pinning her to the floor, “ya ain’t gonna like it one—“

His sentence was cut off by a bullet flying through his skull. Rose quickly pushed him off as he fell to the floor, blood pooling onto it. Sadie walked over and grabbed onto Rose’s gun, before handing it over, “took ya long enough—“ Rose groaned, feeling a throbbing pain in her head.

Sadie helped her up, “a thank ya would have sufficed.” They both looked around at the cabin, “so, what ya think? Should we get everyone up here?”

Rose leaned against a table, trying to relax and stop the spinning in her head, “we should—how ‘bout I clean up here— ya head back to camp and get everyone packed up and ready to go. Make sure this place is somewhat good for when y’all arrive.”

Sadie nodded her head, “Ya gonna be okay alone here? With that head injury?”

“I’ve had worse, Sadie.” It seemed the pain in her bones was getting worse but then other days, she was fine. But by tomorrow there would be more bruises riddling her body, “Go on—I’ll go feed ‘em bodies to some gators.” Her and Sadie both shared a laugh as she went to leave.

“Alright, be back as quick as we can.”

“Get Ms.Grimshaw to yell at ‘em, that’I’ll make ‘em move fast—“ Rose stood up from the table and walked out with Sadie. She walked over to one of the bodies as Sadie disappeared from the area, lugging it over to the swamp and chucking it into the water.

_4 years had gone by for Rose and Agatha, staying with Dutch and the others. Another one had joined the lot of them about a year ago, his name was John Marston. Though her and Agatha had kept to themselves, helping out where they could._

_“Rose!” Agatha yelled out. It caused a panic in her as she ran over to her._

_“What!?” she stopped looking down at Agatha, “What’s wrong?”_

_“Look what I found—“ Agatha picked up a snake and caused Rose to back up._

_“Have ya no regard for anything—put it down!”_

_She looked up at Rose, “it’s pretty though—“_

_“It’s a damn snake and it’ll bite ya! Now put it down—“_

_It didn’t seem hostile as she sighed and placed it back down on the ground, “It’s boring around here.”_

_Rose sighed and knelt down beside her, “I know.” Hosea, Dutch and Arthur were off talking somewhere, she hadn’t been let in much with their conversations, “I got an idea!”_

_Agatha smiled, her big hazel eyes looked up at her, “What!”_

_“How ‘bout we go on a fishin’ trip? Ya like fishin’ don’t ya?”_

_“Yeah, I do—“_

_Dutch’s voice cut through their conversation, “Rose—c’mere m’dear—“_

_“Be back.” Rose petted the top of Agatha’s head before she walked over to Dutch’s tent and walked in. She laughed for a moment, seeing his face, “What on earth, are ya doin’ to your face?”_

_“He’s growing a beard or somethin’.” Rose looked over to Arthur, she was crushing pretty hard on the guy, even though he had a fiancé._

_“Enough you two.” He looked over at Rose, “Been practicing your shooting?”_

_“Yeah and I’d like to start teaching Agatha, she’s ten years old. She needs to learn. I won’t always be ‘round for her—“_

_Hosea chuckled and felt saddened at the prospect, “she’s a got a point. Then again, Rose. That’s a grim topic.”_

_“It ain’t grim, just the truth.” Her eyes went over to Dutch’s, “Will ya let me?”_

_“Of course. Make sure she don’t shoot no one.”_

_Rose rolled her eyes, “don’t be like that, Dutch.” She went to walk out of the tent when she stopped, “I was wonderin’—Agatha’s gettin’ a little restless and I was hoping her and I could go on a fishin’ trip for a few days?  Get her out.”_

_Hosea nodded his head, “I don’t blame her. There’s a lake up past Blackwater ya can go too.”_

_“Good.” She smiled before Dutch said something._

_“Take Arthur—“_

_“What?” she looked over at Dutch, “I’m seventeen, I think I can handle m’ten year old sister on m’own—“_

_“Well, Arthur’s good with a gun—“_

_Rose edged her eyes at him, “What’s that supposed to mean—that I ain’t!?” she closed the distance between her and Dutch, before Hosea grabbed onto her and pulled her back._

_“Enough!” Hosea’s voice cut through her, “clearly ya need a break too, Rose. Take Agatha and go. Arthur, go with ‘em.”_

_“Okay.” He didn’t seem opposed to the idea._

_Hosea took Rose outside of the tent and walked with her over to Agatha, “What’s wrong?”_

_“He ain’t got no goddamn faith in me...no matter what I do. Been 3 years and all I’ve done is try to prove m’worth and it just ain’t enough for that man.”_

_“Your worth for what?”_

_Rose stopped walking and faced him, “That I can help ya on runs and I can shoot, if need be.”_

_“Rose—“_

_“Hosea, ya took us in and I’ll always be grateful. But I made m’choice the minute I pulled the trigger. I’m an outlaw, whether ya like it or not.” She looked over at Agatha sat down on the ground, “I intend to pull m’weight ‘round here. I just wish y’all would trust me.”_

_Hosea nodded his head and sighed in defeat, “You’re right, Rose. Go on your trip, we’ll talk some more when you’re back.”_

_Rose stopped and went over and hugged him tightly, “thank ya.” She pulled away and headed over to Agatha, “Well, let’s go!”_

_“Really!?” Agatha stood up quickly, excited and finding it hard to contain her glee, “we can go?”_

_“We can—“ they walked over to her horse, where Arthur was waiting as he sat on his, “Except Arthur is comin’—“_

_“That’s fine—“ Agatha looked over to him, “he’s nice.”_

_Arthur smirked, “if ya say so.”_

_“I know so!” Agatha stuck her tongue out at him, causing a small smirk from him._

_Rose climbed up on her horse and pulled Agatha up, “Ya hold on now.” Agatha nodded her head and held onto Rose’s waist tightly as they galloped out of the camp grounds and along the road. However instead of heading south, they ended up going north. About half way there Rose stopped and looked over at Arthur, “Ya don’t need to come with us, ya know.”_

_“Dutch asked me too. I ain’t gonna leave ya alone—“_

_“Ain’t Mary ‘round here? Why don’t ya go see her, I promise I won’t tell on ya.”_

_He laughed for a moment, “Ya want me gone?”_

_Rose blushed and looked away from him for a moment, “I—no—but, it’s a fishing trip. I know ya wanna go see her, ‘stead of spending time with us.”_

_Arthur smirked, looking at her, “You jealous?”_

_“No I ain’t.” Even if that was a lie, “Ya are free to go, Mr.Morgan. We’ll be back in a few days.”_

_He watched her closely and saw how red her cheeks were, “Okay, just—be safe.”_

_“I always am.”_

_He laughed, “That so? Why don’t ya tell that to the feller ya shot in town?” her eyes went wide and went to speak when Arthur cut her off, “Don’t worry, I ain’t gonna tell.” He winked and galloped off into the distance, leaving Rose and Agatha alone._

_“You’s sweet on him, ain’t ya?”_

_“You’re too young to understand—“_

_“No I ain’t! Got a book called---P-pride and pre—du-dice—“_

_Rose shook her head, it ain’t like she read the damn novel, “oh, you’s an expert now?”_

_“Well—no—“ Agatha hid her face against Rose’s back, “ya like him though—“_

_“Yeah, I do. But he’s sweet on Mary. Not me.” She looked behind at Agatha, “C’mon—got a long ways to go.”_

 

Rose sat down on the stairs of the cabin and waited for everyone else to come. It had been hours since Sadie left her there. The first to show up was Charles in one of the wagons, hopefully everyone else wasn’t too far behind. Rose stood up and walked over to him, “Where’s everyone else?”

“They’re coming. The roads through the swamps aren’t easy to navigate.” He climbed down from the wagon, “C’mon, let’s get this unpacked—“

Rose climbed up into the back and handed Charles a few things, unpacking the wagon until there was nothing left in the back of it. She hopped down onto the ground after she was finished, “Charles...have ya ever thought about cuttin’ and runnin’?”

He grabbed onto the last of the things and placed them over near one of the cabins, “Thought had come across a few times. Why, have you?”

Rose grabbed onto a few things and moved them over to the cabin, “Not when I first got back with Dutch, but now—“ she looked over at him, “Startin’ to think it’s a good idea...”

“So why don’t you? They’re gone for god knows how long.”

Rose pulled out a smoke, offering one up to Charles, however he declined, “Well, thing is...I couldn’t do that to Dutch. And I don’t wanna leave Arthur behind.” The cigarette burned bright as she lit it up, “I can’t leave. Arthur won’t, he wouldn’t...not unless everyone was safe. Reminds me of Hosea in that aspect. He’s a good man, even though he don’t believe that.”

Charles nodded his head, “He is.” He looked around the cabin as they both continued to unpack until the others arrived with everyone else.

 

Three weeks went by, with still no sign of the boys. It was taking a toll on Karen, she had been convinced that they were never coming back and started to drink more heavily than usual, leading to more fights with anyone that tried to stop her otherwise. Reverend Swanson had sobered up quite a bit, which wasn’t a bad thing, but to Rose’s surprise...it wasn’t the alcohol that he was sobering up from...but from the morphine he had hidden in a book. Everyone else...seemed to be the same. Sadie was doing a good job keeping everything and everyone in check. But even Rose was getting anxious wondering where the hell everyone had went or they were even alive at this point. She was missing Arthur...Hell, she was even missing Dutch. But after three weeks of waiting, she needed to leave and walked over to Sadie.

“Ya wouldn’t terribly mind if I—went away for a few days?”

Sadie laughed, “Why the hell are ya askin’ me for? Ya wanna go, go.”

Rose felt a bit silly asking, “I just—thought I’d let ya know.”

“Yeah, well, thank ya. We’ll be fine, ya got business to attend to then, ya should.”

“I’ll return as soon as I can.” Rose pulled away from Sadie and walked over to Lily, petting her mane before she mounted her, “Been a long time, hasn’t it?” She galloped out of the camp grounds and headed towards Saint Denis. The ride seemed short as they weren’t that far out from the city. Rose kept her hat low and her eyes open, it may have been a few weeks since everything happened but, she wasn’t sure things really settled down here. There was only one place she had to go and that was to the train station. The place was empty as she reached the station and hitched her horse before walking over to the fella, standing beside a coach.

He looked up at her from his smoke, “Good Afternoon, miss.”

“Afternoon. Are ya able to take me to Armadillo, in New Austin?”

He nodded his head and placed on his bowlers hat, “Course, it’ll be about 10.50 and a couple of days.”

Rose handed him over the money, “I can handle it.” She smiled softly as the man opened the coach door for her.

“Let’s go then, the day grows short.”

She climbed in and sat down, watching as they pulled away from the station and through the streets before heading out of the city. Her fingers reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded paper as she looked down at the written letter.

****

**_Dear Ms.Reeds_ **

**_Hopefully you get this letter, it’s been a long while since I’ve gotten to write to you about Noah._ **

**_I’d like for you to come to the Ranch and visit. Haven’t seen you in...it’s been a long time, Rose._ **

**_Been wanting to talk to you about Noah and would seem wrong of me to do so in this letter._ **

**_When you can spare some time, please come see me and Frank at the ranch._ **

**_You and Agatha, are always welcome._ **

****

**_Edith O’Neal_ **

 

A lot of thoughts went through Rose’s mind as she sat there in the coach, wondering what Edith had to talk to her about and she didn’t even know about...Agatha. Then again, why would she? It had been years since she’d seen them and the only thing she had gotten was Noah’s picture. It was nice. It was—it wasn’t in her pocket. Frantically she searched, wondering if maybe she had dropped it somewhere. Wondering if it was in Arthur’s room, but wherever it was...she hoped Dutch hadn’t found it.

She stared out at the passing scenery and leaned her head back; she hadn’t seen Noah in a long time, not since he was a little one. Her eyes closed feeling some sadness bubble up, wondering what happened or what was going on with him. After some time of staring out the window, sleep finally overcame her.

 

_“I think, you’re ready. Of course if you’re still up for it, Rose?”_

_Her brown eyes looked up at him, “Took ya a damn year to make that decision?”_

_Dutch groaned at her attitude and shook his head, “Are you or are you not on board?”_

_“I’m on board.”_

_Dutch smiled, “Good, let’s get going then, Arthur, Hosea will ride on ahead, you, stick with me.”_

_“Okay.” Her fingers ran down to the side, where her pistol was holstered and left the tent and out to her horse. Dutch followed along short after as they both rode out from camp, “What train we robbing?”_

_“Caught wind of a robbery that was happening tonight---by the Jack Hall Gang—“_

_“What? We’re gonna try and steal—from another gang?”_

_Dutch laughed, “indeed—you’re a good shot. Between the four of us, we can do it. You having doubts?”_

_“Naw, Dutch.”_

_“Good, m’dear. Now let’s ride on, Arthur and Hosea should be near the rendezvous point by now.”_

_Rose nodded her head and followed along for a while before they reached a small hill, overlooking the tracks. Hosea and Arthur stood by and looked out with some binoculars. Rose and Dutch got off their horse and walked over to them, “Anything?”_

_“Not yet.” Hosea kept his eyes out, “should be along shortly—“_

_The sound of a train echoed in the distance, causing a smile along Dutch’s face, “bandana’s up—“ he looked over to Rose and as she pulled the material up around her face, leaving only her piercing gaze._

_“Here it comes—“ Hosea put the binoculars away and looked over at Rose, “Ya ready to jump?”_

_“Jump—?“ she stood up with the rest of them, “What you mean—“ She felt Dutch grab onto her arm and pull her with him as they jumped off the hill and onto the moving train. Her body hit hard against the metal and hissed out in pain, “F-fuck—“ Arthur and Hosea had landed down on the next cart behind them._

_Dutch grabbed onto her hand and pulled her up, “C’mon—you’ll live—“_

_“Ain’t ya supportive—“ she stood up on the cart and looked, “Where—“_

_“Get to the next cart, Rose—and make sure to shoot.”_

_“Right—“ she walked as quick as she could along the top and hopped down, peeking as she saw a few men in the next cart. Hosea and Arthur were not that far behind her and looted what they could. When the sound of some bullets shot off, the men began to scramble. She moved in quickly and shot the few of them down and moved on ahead, wondering if it was a good idea that she was. Cart after cart she shot her gun and killed those inside until she reached one and couldn’t get into._

_It was seconds later that the door flew open quickly before something smashed against the back of her head._

_An impending doom lingered over her along with the pain. She had missed someone..._

_Her knees hit hard against the ground as the men pulled her into the cart and shut the door tightly. She looked up, her vision blurred as she tried to make out the figures._

_“Pretty young thing—“_

_“Yeah—hate to shoot her—“_

_“Let’s have some fun.”_

_“What fun we could have—“ she felt the bandana being pulled down, “What pretty lips—“_

_A panic fell over her, there were a few men in here with her and it made her sick to her stomach. The things they wanted to do to her. She kicked and tried to scream as one of them, pushed her down onto the floor as two others held down her arms and felt a cold sting of a knife ran along her skin, “Think I can make her scream?”_

_“No gentlemen—I don’t think you can—“_

_A bullet flew through one of the men holding down her arms, she hurried and quickly grabbed onto her pistol and aimed it at the fella in front of her and shot him quickly. Dutch took care of the others, leaving Rose on the floor as she tried to calm herself before she slowly moved and rested on her knees. It went silent in the cabin, with only the sound of Dutch’s footsteps as he hurried over and knelt down beside her._

_“You okay, Rose—“ his eyes watched hers, but she didn’t respond quick enough, “Rose!”_

_“I—“ her eyes shook as she looked at him, “Dutch—“_

_His hands cupped around her face and her eyes closed at the contact, “Rose—you’re safe now.”_

_“I—know—“ her fingers wrapped tightly around his jacket and pulled him close, resting her forehead against his. She could see how he looked at her and how different it was from all those years ago. The need grew stronger as they lingered there, her heart pounded hard and fast in her chest._

_“Rose—“ he was fighting his urges too, “We—should—“ Quickly her lips pressed deeply against his and the sound of his groan sent a pleasurable aching feeling throughout her body. He pulled away, his breathing ragged, “You need to stop—“_

_She wasn’t sure if she could, “Why—“ her lips brushed lightly against his as her eyes watched his._

_“If you don’t—“ he pushed her away slowly and ran the pad of his thumb along her bottom lip, “I won’t be able to stop what I’d do to you—“_

_“Ya make that sound bad—“_

_He smiled for a moment, “It ain’t...Rose—it just ain’t.”_

_The door flew open as Rose pulled away, her cheeks red and flushed, “You two—“ Hosea looked over to Rose as she stood up, seeing how she was, “okay?”_

_Dutch stood up and helped Rose up, “We’re fine.” He pulled away from Rose, not looking at her in fear that she’d see his rosy cheeks, “Let’s finish up and get the hell outta here.”_

 

A bump in the road rocked the coach, jolting Rose awake, “what—“ she looked around realizing nothing was wrong.

“Miss?”

“Yeah—“ she blinked through the sleep in her eyes and rubbed them.

“We’re almost at Armadilllo. There a spot you wish to get dropped off at?”

“Naw, drop me near the saloon...I can get where I need to from there.”

“Will do, miss.”

There was a small breeze that brushed against her face as she looked out the window, seeing the barren landscape. There was excitement and worry within her, wondering what was going on but she was going to see her boy... _their_ boy. A few tears threatened to fall as she neared the town, the coach moving fast along the road till it reached the Saloon and stopped.

“Here Miss.”

Rose opened the coach door and stepped out, looking around the empty town. “Ain’t nothing changed here...” she looked over at the man and tipped her hat at him before turning and heading down and out of the town. The ranch wasn’t far as she walked along the road, the gnawing in her stomach getting worse as she neared the place. It was a big property, had a barn and a chicken coop. The house wasn’t overly big but, it was nice enough.

Rose’s footsteps felt heavy as she walked to the fence and stood there, looking and wondering...if she should turn back, “Ya can do this—“ she whispered to herself  and walked over to the house, knocking on the door and waiting for someone to answer.

The door opened slowly as Rose was greeted with a smile, “Rose—come in, come in!“

Rose took off her hat as she entered, “Hello, Mrs.O’Neal.”

“Stop that—you know to call me, Edith—“ She looked around only seeing her, “Where’s Agatha?”

Rose looked away from her, “She—she died. ‘Bout two years ago...”

“Oh I’m—I’m awful sorry to hear that, Rose.” Edith placed her hand on her shoulder, “She was a good soul.”

Rose nodded her head, trying to ignore the tears that threatened to fall, “I—uh, got your letter. Sayin’ ya needed to talk to me, ‘bout Noah.”

Edith grabbed onto her, “C’mon, let’s take a walk.”

The gnawing feeling seemed worse as she left the house with Edith and walked with her along the property of the ranch, “Is Noah alright?”

“Course, m’dear.” She smiled softly, “I’m sorry. Ya must have been thinking all sorts of awful things when ya got the letter. He’s fine, a fine boy.”

Relief washed over Rose, “Good—“ she smiled and looked over at Edith, “So why did ya ask m’here?”

They stopped walking and leaned against the fence, looking out at the mountains in the distance, “I thought it was about time the boy knew the truth.” She paused looking over at Rose, “About who his real mother is.”

Rose shook her head, her eyes shaking, “I ain’t have no right to be called that, Edith. Ya been raising him, not--not me.”

“I know...” she looked over at Rose, “You gave him life though. You’re always gonna be his mother.”

“Edith...” Rose quickly wiped away the tears that were about to fall, “So what, I’m supposed to tell him—I’m his mother?”

Edith shook her head, “No—I already did. You’re here to see him, to let him see his mother.”

“Does he—does he even wanna see me?”

Edith smiled softly, “he does.” She motioned over to the barn, “He’s in there with Frank.”

Rose slowly moved away from Edith but then stopped, “Does Frank know—“

“Go on, Rose.”

There was a feeling of dread pulling at her as she made her way over to the barn. What would Noah say? Sure he wanted to see her but, how would that really play out? It seemed like it took forever for her to walk over to the barn. Her hand pushed on the door lightly and peeked her head in as she did so, hearing the two of them talk.

“Good work today—though I’d still appreciate it if you could help out your mother fixing the fence later.”

“Alright Pa.”

Rose felt her heart tighten, as she walked into the barn and looked over seeing Noah. God, did he ever look like Dutch. Frank looked over and walked towards her, before giving her a hug, “Look at you. All grown up.”

“Unfortunately.” Rose smiled softly.

Frank looked over at Noah and then back at Rose before he walked by her, “I’ll leave you two be.” The barn door shut quietly behind him, leaving Rose with Noah. She stood there staring at the floor and unsure of what to say. What could she say? She hadn’t been in the boy’s life for such a long time. She turned her head and looked over at Noah. He may have his father’s looks but, he had her eyes.

He looked over at her, “Can I ask ya something?”

Rose walked over slowly, “Course ya can.”

His eyes looked down at the ground for a moment, “Why did ya leave me?”

She was a bit off put by the question, but it was a fair one to ask.  A sadness bubbled up inside her as she tried to speak, “I—I don’t think you’d understand, Noah. You’re a bit young, I think—“

“I ain’t that young!” she looked over at him, “I turned twelve, I’m almost a man!”

Rose laughed softly as a few tears slid down her face. There was a burning fire in that boy, he was his father and his mother, “Ya really remind of your father.”

“Where is he?”

“Somewhere on the sea.” She shook her head, “I think.”

Noah walked close to Rose and looked up at her, “I want to show ya something. But—“

“But—“ Rose stood there watching him closely.

“Ya can’t tell mother that I have it.”

_A gun...I bet that’s what it is..._

_He’s hiding a gun from her, so of course the outlaw mother wouldn’t see an issue with it..._

Noah grabbed onto Rose’s hand and lead her out of the barn and over to a big tree not too far from the house. Rose stood there, “A tree?” Noah let go of her hand and walked over and pulled something out, it was a book. He walked back over to her as Rose knelt down in front of him, watching as he pulled a photo out and handed it to her.

Lightly she grabbed the photo from him and stared down at it, “I—I left this with Edith. How did you get it?”

Noah shuffled his feet as he stood there, “Mother showed it to me, when she told m’everything—“ his cheeks blushed a red color, “And then I stole it.”

It was her and Dutch in that picture, “I was eighteen when this was taken...seems so long ago now.”

“Is that m’father?” he pointed down at Dutch in the photo.

Rose felt her chest tighten, “Why ya askin’ that?”

Noah grabbed onto the photo and turned it around as she saw the writing on the back, “It says Van Der Linde...”

Rose sighed, “that’s right...” she whispered to herself. Of course the boy had his father’s name. Then again, she didn’t think this was ever going to happen, her seeing Noah again or Dutch for that matter. “And that’s your last name—“ it’s not like she could lie to him, “Yeah...it is...”

Noah smiled as he turned the photo and looked down at it. It wasn’t going to kill the boy knowing the truth, but Dutch...well he was another story, “Does he know ‘bout me?”

“No.” Her eyes went down to the ground, she wanted to cry. A part of her wanted Dutch to know, but at the same time...so much fear was there about him knowing about Noah. What would happen to Noah? What would happen to the O’Neal’s? Lightly she placed her hand on his, “I know ya won’t believe m’when I say this but...its best that he don’t know ‘bout ya.”

Noah nodded his head, “Okay.”

“Noah—one day when you’re older—“ she wasn’t sure she should say this but, “maybe you’ll see him. But right now—it just ain’t the right time.” She wasn’t sure if there would ever be a right time.

“I understand.” He placed the photo back into the book and looked at Rose, “Are ya staying long?”

Rose stood up, “No Noah, I—I just came to see ya...”

He nodded his head, “Can’t stay?”

She smiled sadly, “This is your life, Noah. It ain’t mine. It never was.” Quickly she wiped away some tears and knelt back down in front of him, “But it ain’t a bad thing. It’s what I wanted for ya...the life I lead, it ain’t a happy one. It never will be.”

“I wanna go with ya!”

“What—“ Rose shook her head, “No—absolutely not.”

“I wanna go with ya! I’m old enough to make m’own decisions—“

It didn’t seem like this conversation was going to end well, “No—“ Rose watched his eyes closely, “Ya need to stay here. You’re safe here, it’s dangerous out there.” Her eyes shook, welling up with tears, “Ya can’t come with me.”

He didn’t look too happy about that statement, “You’re leavin’ me again—“

Rose stood up and pulled away from him slightly, “That ain’t it, Noah—“

“Go on and leave then--“ he slowly  made his way past her, “I wish ya never came here!”

“Noah!” Rose yelled out as he ran towards the house and disappeared around the corner, leaving her alone with her thoughts, “Should never have come here—“ she leaned against the tree and lowered her head, her face scrunching up in sadness. After a few moments, Rose pulled herself away from the tree and walked back over to the house. As she rounded the corner, she saw Noah sat down on the porch. Slowly she walked over, which only made the boy turn from her. She stopped and looked down at him, “Noah—“

He didn’t say anything.

“I’m sorry, Noah. One day you’ll understand...” she looked down at her hat, feeling the material between her fingers before handing it over to him, “here—“

He turned his head slightly and looked at the hat, “A hat?”

“Not just a hat, a very special hat. It’s been through a lot with me. A lot...”

Gradually he moved his hand over and grabbed onto the hat, “don’t ya need it?”

“I want ya have it. It’ll look better on ya anyways.” She smiled softly as he placed it on, “look at ya, m’boy—“ she pulled away quickly. The pain felt too great as she walked along the porch and stopped to look at Noah, “I love ya. I always have...” Her feet moved slowly as she went down the porch stairs and down along the pathway till she reached the road leading back towards town. What would have happened had she made it back to Dutch? The though crossed her mind now more than ever, which made the tears fall just as fast as she walked back towards Armadillo to get a ride home.

 

Took a couple of days, but she made it back and collected her horse before heading to Lakay. A part of her hoped that maybe the boys made it back, she wasn’t even sure if they were still alive at this point...though had hoped Micah wasn’t. When she got back to the cabins, there was still no sign of the boys. Rose hitched her horse and walked over to Sadie leaning against one of the cabin’s walls.

“Welcome back.”

“Guess the boys ain’t back yet?”

Sadie shook her head, “Karen’s been losing it a bit more though... swear she hasn’t stopped drinking since before we left Shady Belle...”

“Shit...” Rose looked over to Karen sat near the camp fire, swigging back more whiskey.

Sadie turned her attention to Rose, “Ya look awful.”

“Why thank ya, it was the look I was goin’ for.” Rose laughed for a second and then looked around the camp, “Have ya seen Molly ‘round? I swear it feels like weeks since I’ve seen her.”

“She hasn’t been around, don’t know where she’s gone though. And she don’t like ya anyways.”

“Oh, I know, Sadie... just a real shame cause I like her.” she sighed, “Well, feelin’ bad for her, I guess...” Rose pulled away from Sadie, “I’m gonna rest, feels like I didn’t sleep at all these last few days.” Sadie waved her hand as Rose walked over to where her cot was set up in the cabin and laid down for a few winks.

Hours passed, with little to no rest as she stared up at the ceiling, “Fuck it---“ she said to herself, only to have Uncle answer her.

“Fuck what now?”

Rose stood up from her cot and peeked through the hole in the wall, “Ain’t nothing, Uncle. Close your damn eyes...” she walked out of the cabin and grabbed onto the rifle Arthur had given her and went out to stand guard for a while.

The night rolled around as she stayed outside, while mostly everyone else headed into the cabin, only Pearson and Abigail stayed outside to cook. Rose stared into the darkness  of the forest as she heard what sounded like galloping heading towards the camp, slowly she raised the rifle as the figured neared, “Who’s that—“

“Ain’t the welcome, I was hoping for—“ the horse trotted to a stop as Rose looked up seeing Arthur, “but it’ll hafta do.”

“Arthur—“ she breathed out as he hopped down, he didn’t look well, not one damn bit. She lowered the rifle and ran over to him, practically throwing herself against him. Her arms were tight around his neck as she pulled him close and pressed her lips deeply against his for a few moments, before hitting him in the chest, “Ya fool!” she pulled away, “I thought ya dead!” her eyes shook looking at him.

He started to laugh, but then it turned into a cough...a deep almost wet like cough and went on for a few moments, “Well—we ain’t dead—and sorry to say, neither is Micah—“ He stopped looking over at Rose, seeing a distraught look on her face, “You okay?”

“I—I just—love ya.” He smiled softly and reached his hand out, cupping the back of her head and pulling her close against his chest, which only spurred on the tears. That cough—she’s heard it before and at the other end of it...was nothing good.

“I love you too.” She looked up at him, as he wiped away the tears, “Where’s the tough woman I left?”

“It’s been a very hard few weeks Arthur...” and she could only imagine, there were going to get harder. She grabbed onto his ragged shirt and pulled him down against her lips. Whatever he has...she’d probably had already gotten it. She pulled away and grabbed onto his hand, “C’mon—“

They walked over to where Abigail and Pearson were, he turned around, hearing something, “Arthur!” he yelled out, “Arthur’s here!”

Abigail ran over and hugged him, “Oh, Arthur, you’re alive!”

“Just about—“ he started to cough, making Rose’s heart clench tightly. She walked into the cabin with Arthur and Abigail.

“Hey everybody, look who’s here.”

Arthur walked in, saying hello to everyone. Rose walked behind slowly.

“They got John—“ Abigail said.

Sadie chiming in, “yeah he got arrested.”

“He ain’t hung yet?” Arthur said and sat down. Rose followed along and leaned against the wall as Micah walked into the cabin. Except out of everything that was bugging her about him was...why did he look so goddamn cleaned up? While Arthur looked like...well shit.

“Not yet, they moved him to Sisika. He’s been working on a chain gang.”

Pearson handed over everyone a plate of food as they all ate. It seemed like forever since Rose had eaten anything. But she ate her food and enjoyed that Arthur was back and hated that Micah was back. Eventually a few people went down for bed after a couple of hours, but there still wasn’t any sign of Dutch or Bill or Javier for that matter as she stood outside, letting the others get acquainted with Arthur again. It was raining pretty hard, making it hard to see or hear, minus the random cheering that sounded from the cabin a few moments later. She shook her head, unaware of the danger that was lurking within the darkness.

“Rose! Get your ass in here!”

_Is that...Dutch?_

As she turned, the sound and the click of a gun caught her attention from behind her. Her heart stopped in her chest as a familiar voice spoke to her, “Hello, Ms.Reeds...”

She turned her head, “Agent Milton—“ He grabbed onto the ruff of her neck roughly and pulled her with him, “Didn’t think ya liked roughin’ up women—“ that only made him hit her with the butt of his pistol, causing her to hiss in pain. They walked over near the cabin, Milton’s grip on her was tight as he yelled out to the cabin.

“This is Agent Milton with the Pinkerton Detective Agency. On behalf of Cornwall Kerosene and Tar, the United States Government and the commonwealth of West Elizabeth. We are here to arrest you. Come out with your hands up.” Milton looked over to one of his men, “Give them to a count of five, then give’em everything...” Milton stopped and looked at Rose, changing his mind on a whim, “actually...let ‘em have it—“

“No--” Rose screamed out and stepped on Milton’s foot, his grip loosing enough for her to run and jump behind the wagon for some cover.

“Goddamnit!” Milton yelled out, “Kill ‘em all!”

Rose pulled out her pistol as she tried to breathe through the painful ache that wracked throughout her bones, “C’mon—not now--“ she whispered to herself, feeling bad that she let this happen. “Ya can---do this—“ 

“Rose—“ Sadie hurried over to her and grabbed onto Rose, peeking out around the wagon to get a better look, “C’mon—“

“Where—“ she hissed out, trying to ignore the pain as she moved along with Sadie and Arthur.

“Where are we going—“ Arthur asked.

“There’s a trap door through the other house, we can try and flank them!”

Rose moved quick as they hurried under the other house and climbed through the door, “C’mon!” Sadie yelled as they all climbed up, Sadie and Arthur took both sides of the door, while Rose went over to one of the windows, getting ready to shoot. But then it all stopped and it got quiet... real quiet.

“You mistook it for weakness.” They heard Milton say.

“Why they stop shooting?” Sadie asked as Arthur peeked looking through the hole in the door.

“Now I will show strength and you may mistake it for brutality. There is no escape for any of you. I shall hunt you to the ends of the earth and the end of time—I’ve killed your friends and I’ve enjoyed killing them—“

“This idiot is really starting to irritate me.” Arthur pulled away from the door and grabbed onto his rifle, before kicking the door open and shoot down whoever he could. Rose moved from the window and hurried out of the house, finding some cover and shooting a few of Milton’s men. Sadie snuck out and moved quick as she went around killing who she could.

Rose really wasn’t on her game, there was too much pain wracking her senses and too much of what was going on with Arthur, making it hard to focus on anything, “Goddamnit—“ she gritted through her teeth, coming out of cover when she could and firing her gun. A few bullets whizzed by her, with only a few grazing or nicking the skin.

“Arthur!” Rose saw the Gatling gun and yelled out, “Get on the gun!!”

The onslaught of bullets continued for a little bit longer before a huge noise of gunshots and metal casings echoed throughout the forest. Arthur aimed and shot, littering anyone full of bullets. Rose came out of cover and ran behind where he was stood and reloaded quick as she could before taking more shots.

“More to your right, Arthur!” Sadie yelled out and taking a few shots.

It seemed like it went on forever, until silence finally fell over the forest. Rose cried out in a bit of pain as she stood up. Arthur hopped down over the side and hunched over, coughing. She hurried over to him and grabbed onto him, “Arthur—ya okay?”

He looked up at her and finally she could see, the bit of red that wasn’t there in his eyes before. A fear began to gnaw at her, as she looked at him. Dutch walked out of the cabin and over to him, “You saved us, Arthur.”

“Well, me and Rose and Bill and Sadie.” Arthur hunched over again coughing and clinging to his chest. Rose held onto his arm, ignoring her own pain.

“You okay, son?”

Rose looked to Arthur as he straightened up, “Sure.”

“Well, we ain’t been back for more than a few days—“

Arthur looked over to Dutch, “What—“ he leaned against Rose, “what do we do, Dutch?”

“Clearly we need to leave. It’ll take them some time to regroup.” He turned to the cabin, “Mr.Pearson, Ms.Grimshaw, start packing up. Javier, you and Bill get outta here. Go scare off any scum loitering about, we need a couple of days. Now! Please gentlemen.” Dutch walked close to Rose and Arthur, his eyes going over to hers before looking off into the forest.

“What’s next, Dutch?”

“We just need some time—I just, I, need some time. Now we can’t go east ‘cause then we’ll be in the ocean...so we’re gonna have to go north, I guess? I just need somebody to buy me some goddamn time, one of you.”

Micah was standing awfully close to the lot of them, “You’ll figure it out, boss. You always do.”

Abigail finally chimed in, “What are you gonna do about John, Dutch? He’s in jail...”

“W-w-we’ll get him. Abigail...Just not, not yet.”

“There’s talk of hanging him.” She wasn’t planning on backing down from this one.

“It’s not gonna come to that!” Dutch waved his hand up in the air and walked away from the lot of them, leaving poor Abigail to wallow in her worries.

“Dutch!” She yelled out.

“Not now, Miss, I—“ he walked over to the cabin, “not now.”

Abigail went over to Rose, Arthur and Sadie, “I’m begging you guys. He’s...they’re gonna hang him. It would break my—the boy’s heart. Please, do something.”

Rose looked over to Sadie as she spoke, “We will.”

Abigail walked away from the three of them as Sadie looked at Rose and Arthur, “Okay, I’m gonna go figure out how we rescue this bastard.”

“Now?” Arthur seemed confused, but it probably had more to do with going behind Dutch’s back, which Rose, could get on board with.

“Yes, now. The two of ya, meet me at Doyle’s Tavern on Milyonne Avenue.” Sadie said and walked away from the two of them.

Rose looked over at Arthur, her expression hardened by what just happened, “What the hell happened to ya?”

Arthur grabbed onto her hand and walked with her, “We got stuck on an island, called Guarma—the boat we stowed on got hit by a storm and got shipwrecked. Javier got caught and Dutch and I went after him...” Arthur coughed for a moment, trying to clear his throat, “Dutch he—he’s seems half crazed, by everything we’ve gone through. When we was on the island...Dutch—he killed an old woman and she was—trying to help.”

“It’s been real rough, Arthur.” Her eyes were tired and filled with sadness.

“He said she was gonna betray us, that’s why he killed her…But for a moment—“ he sighed and then coughed again, making her fears much worse, “I wondered when I was gonna be next.”

“He’s changin’, Arthur...”

“I know.”

She breathed in slowly, “and It ain’t for the better...” Many things were bothering her, but the thing that rubbed her the wrong way, was with Micah and why all of a sudden...he was hanging around and following Dutch so goddamn close, however she kept that thought to herself, “I miss Hosea...I miss him so goddamn much. Everything is fallin’ apart...”

“Me too…” Arthur looked over to her and pulled her close, her head nuzzling into his chest and hearing the wheezing, “Rose--“ he coughed, “I love you.”

She looked up at him, “I’ve missed—ya.” A few tears clouded her vision as she reached up and cupped his face, “I’ve—“

His lips pressed against her deeply and roughly, though it didn’t last long as he took a moment to catch his breath. He grabbed onto her hand and took her to his room in one of the cabins. Her fingers worked slowly at his clothing, wanting to savour this moment with him. Even though each time she heard him cough, it made her heart hurt. Arthur looked down at her, seeing how sad she looked, even though he was there.

“You--okay?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, “I want ya—“ her lips pressed softly against his neck, eliciting a groan from him, “I—need ya—“ she tried to say without letting the tears fall, “I need ya so bad, Arthur—“

He hummed deep in his throat, as reached out unbuttoning her shirt, “I need you—“ he bent down and pressed his lips against her neck, nipping and licking the skin as her hands went to his pants, unbuckling and unbuttoning his pants. He slipped his shirt off as she pulled his pants down, exposing his throbbing cock. The sound of her belt fell to the floor as Arthur took it off, his fingers working at her pants. Little by little, her fingers ran down his stomach and down to his length, gripping onto him as she began to stroke him.

A need grew which filled her with both urgency and sadness, her lips pressed against his ear and breathed out softly before biting his earlobe, “Arthur—“ she let go of his cock and grabbed onto his hand, sliding it down between her legs and against her mound, his fingers gliding along her soaked cunt. A groaned sounded deep in his chest, along with some uneasy nosies as his other hand wrapped around her back and moved her close to his body, her breathing turning ragged as his fingers pleasured her, “I—I want to feel ya—all of ya, Arhur...”

“Fuck—“ he moaned quietly before she pulled away and slipped off her shirt. He smirked, “Ya goddamn tease—“

“Lay down—“ she motioned to the bed as he sat and laid back on it, taking in the sight of her. She was beautiful, no matter what happened, no matter the scars all over her. She was his, and he was hers. Quickly he sat up on the edge of the cot and reached out, grabbing onto her and pinning her beneath him, “A--arthur!” her eyes went up to his as he towered above her, “I—I can, ya know—be on top—“

A tickle in his throat caused him to lightly cough, as he shook his head, “No—you’re mine—“ he moved between her legs and rested his arms on either side of her, looking down at her with loving eyes, “All mine—“

Her fingers went up to his hair and her legs wrapping lightly around his waist as she urged him forward, feeling his cock twitch and prod against her aching cunt, “then take—“ her words were cut off, as he penetrated her core.  He moaned at the tight searing heat around him, how easily he slid into her, how wet she felt... he had missed this. His hips moved hard and slow against her and came down, resting his head against the crook of her neck. He took in the scent of her before slowly kissing down her chest and to her breasts, pushing himself up as he did so. His eyes looked up at hers and watched as he took a pink bud into his hot mouth, sucking and biting before moving to the next one. The sounds of her moans sent a pleasure throughout his body, her fingers locked in his hair and pushed him harder against her breasts, “Ah—fuck—“

Arthur groaned at the response and upped his pace, fucking her faster. The floor boards beneath the cot, creaked loudly as he pulled her close, filling her to the hilt each time. He moved back up and pressed his lips deeply and roughly against hers as his hand slipped down between them, pressing his thumb against her clit.

“A—Arthur—“ she whimpered out.

“Cum for me—“ he turned his head and coughed, Rose moved her hands around his face, feeling the facial hair against her hands. His eyes burned into hers, “cum—Rose—“

“Arthur—“ her legs tightened around his waist and dug her heels into his lower back as she cried out, from the pleasure wracking throughout her body. Arthur pulled his hand from between them and cupped he back of her head, lacing her lips against his. The pulsing and tightening of her walls around his cock was too much for him to hold back any longer and groaned loudly against her lips as he came, filling her with hot cum. The afterglow didn’t last long as Arthur pulled away in a coughing fit and sat on the edge of the cot, hunched over. Rose sat up quickly and sat beside him, both her hands on his shoulders. “Arthur—ya okay?”

She knew he wasn’t.

“Yeah—I’m fine—“ He sat back up and looked over at her as her fingers laced with his. There was something lingering in her eyes, but he didn’t know what. She looked sad, that woman he met all those months and even years ago, was slowly disappearing.

“Lay with me.” She motioned down to the cot, as he laid down and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her backside to this front. She thought sleep was going to come to her as they laid there together, but for most of the night, nothing but dread and uncertainty tormented her.

Arthur...

Dutch...

Everything that had happened since Saint Denis and Micah, suddenly seeming a little too close for comfort with Dutch... She heard snoring sound from behind her as she climbed out of bed and grabbed onto her clothing, changing into them quickly.  As she went to leave, she stopped and walked back over to the cot, kissing Arthur on the lips softly, “I love ya, Arthur.” She whispered and headed out of the cabin.  It seemed everyone had gone down for the night, Rose didn’t know what time it was, but it was pretty dark out and the camp fire they had going, had long gone out. She walked through until a voice caught her attention.

“Where the hell are ya sneakin’ off to, Bitch Mouth?”

She breathed slowly and turned her head, seeing Micah leaning against a tree, “What have I told ya, ‘bout that goddamn nickname?”

He smirked, watching the anger seethe from her, “That you’d put a bullet in me,” he laughed, “and I’m still waiting—“

Swiftly she walked over to him as she pulled out her pistol and aimed it at him, “Well why didn’t ya say so?”

“Ya won’t shoot me—ya don’t have it in ya.” He didn’t care, he didn’t care one damn bit.

Her eyes watched his closely, as she pulled the pistol away and put it back in her holster, “If murdering gang members wasn’t against the rules—ya would have been long gone, Micah. Long gone...”

He grinned looking at her, “Ain’t your call—but damn,” he moved from the tree and inched closer to her, “watching ya get all angry...gets me all hot and bothered—“

“I bet it does—“ she gritted through her teeth before her right hand cracked him one in the face, her breathing ragged as she watched him stumble back. But only laughter echoed throughout the camp.

“Bet that felt real good, didn’t it?”

“You’re a goddamn rat, Micah—ya think I don’t see ya, gettin’ cozy with Dutch.” She kept her stance as he wiped some of the blood from his lip.

“I don’t know what you’re on about.” He slowly moved towards her, “Are ya alright, Rose—ya seem—“ he grinned, “not well.” His fist made contact with her cheek, her teeth grinding hard together as she tried to move past the pain with her eyes glaring at Micah’s.

“Fuck ya, Micah—“ she yelled, “I ain’t blind!” and ran at him, tackling him to the ground, her fist making contact with his face a few times, which only elicited more laughter from him. He shoved her off roughly, her body hitting the ground hard. They both stood up quickly and pulled out their pistols aiming them at each other. Rose pulled the trigger, only to have nothing come out.

“That’s alright, Bitch Mouth. I would have been offended if ya didn’t try—“

A loud gunshot that came from neither of them, had turned their attention up to Dutch, who was looking down at the two of them, “Now I can’t imagine why, at this ungodly hour, you’d both try and pick a goddamn fight—when there are hundreds of other things that we need to be worryin’ about!“

Micah backed away, “I’m real sorry, boss.” He looked over at Rose and smirked, “But she came at me.”

Rose put her pistol away in its holster and looked up at Dutch, “He had it a long time comin’ Dutch. But I’m thinkin’ I can’t explain m’self to ya—“ she looked around, surprised that the gunshot didn’t wake up anyone, at least from her knowledge.

Dutch’s eyes dug into hers, tired and angry, “Get in here, now.”

Rose walked up to him and stopped, standing close, “And what If I say no, Dutch?” his eyes looked at hers, “Are ya—are ya gonna strangle me too?” she whispered and saw a realization cross his face, which quickly diminished as he grabbed and pulled her into the other cabin and into his room.

He shut the door tightly behind them, his head turning slowly to look at her, “I see Arthur has been talking to you.”

Rose nodded her head, “Yeah well, that’s normally what people do, Dutch—they talk—especially after being gone so goddamn long—“  

“I don’t need you picking fights with people, Rose. There ain’t no time for that—“

“Is that so?” she laughed for a moment, “but there’s always time for ya, right Dutch?”

“What has happened to you?”

She walked over to him, wanting to get by and to the door, “Nothing...” her hands reached out and cupped his face, looking at him, as if she’d never see him again. As if everything after that moment would be it, “what happened to the man, that didn’t kill in cold blood? Who taught me, never to do that...“ a few tears lined her eyes, “where’d he go?”

Dutch stood there looking at her, in the light, she looked different, broken and lost. Yet she was strong as she stood there with him. But he didn’t say anything and that was the worst of it all. She pulled his head down and kissed his forehead, closing her eyes as a few tears slid down her cheeks, “I’m glad you made it back.” She didn’t hate him and there was always that part of her that would love him, but she was tired of everything and that included Dutch.

As she moved away from him and over to the cabin door, Dutch’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist and pulled her close to him, “Don’t go—“ he sounded so tired and sad. It pulled at her heart as she stood there, unable to move, “please—don’t go. I—I need you—“

She smiled sadly and shook her head, “Dutch—ya don’t need me. Ya never have—“

He pressed his head against the crook of her neck, “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you—since I’ve been near you—“ his lips pressed against her ear softly, sending a chill down her back, “I love you, Rose—please don’t go—“

Her eyes shut tightly as she tried to breathe through the sadness, she couldn’t do this, “Dutch—please ya need to let go of me—please...” the last word came out as a sob, making Dutch let go of her. She pulled away and covered her mouth not looking at him.

“Rose, I’m sorry--I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I—I have to go—“ She shook her head and hurried out of his room and out of the cabin, needing to put some distance between her and Dutch. It wasn’t like she could talk to Hosea anymore...but she did just that and left the camp grounds, heading south past Bluewater Marsh to his grave. It didn’t take long to get there as she trotted off the road and over to the site, where both Hosea and Lenny were buried. Rose hopped down from her horse and sat down on the ground in front of the graves, “I suppose—I might look silly doin’ this but...” she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, “Ya ain’t here no more—there—there’s no one I can talk too.” Her heart pounded hard in her chest, “I can’t keep doin’ this no more. I keep tryin’ and tryin’ and I’m failin’...” she wiped a few tears falling down her face, “I failed Noah—Arthur—and Dutch. He’s not even...well, he’s just not the same anymore.” She laughed for a moment, “then again...I think ya already knew that.”

The night breeze felt cool on her face as she sat there and stared at the graves, the sound of the wildlife echoing throughout the skies as she sat there. “I—miss ya, old man. I thought I knew what I was doing when I gave everything up to be in this life. To be an outlaw...I’ve always wondered...was—was there a chance for me to get out?” she sighed, it’s not like she was gonna get an answer, “I don’t know how much longer I can do this—“

“I’m hoping for quite a long while—“ Rose turned her head and saw Arthur standing there, having a smoke before he started coughing again, “Ain’t—my—choice though—“

“Arthur.” she went to move when he walked over and sat down beside her.

“I heard a gunshot and Dutch yellin’ ‘bout—“ he turned his head and offered her up a smoke, “by the time I got out of bed and went to see what the hell was goin’ on—saw ya disappearing from the camp.”

She grabbed onto one and lit it up, “Gettin’ tired of it all, Arthur...” she blinked back some tears, “real tired...”

“Same here, Rose...” he sighed, “same here...” Arthur wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close as they sat there together for a long while. Eventually they headed back to camp after what seemed like a few hours, though at this point it was almost morning and they only managed to sleep for a couple of hours before Dutch needed to see them. The sound of Ms.Grimshaw yelling echoed throughout the camp, as she yelled at everyone to get a move on .She sounded upset, more so than usual.

Rose walked with Arthur over to one of the cabins and to the porch, where Dutch was sat with his legs outstretched as he stared out at the swamp. He looked calm and relaxed for someone who needed to get everyone out and to a new place, wherever that may be, “White to D4. Black to F5. White to G3. Knight to F6—“ eventually he started to repeat himself. Rose looked over to Arthur, giving him an uneasy look.

“You okay there?” Arthur interrupted his thoughts.

“Working it all out. Once and for all, Arthur.”

Arthur nodded his head, as both him and Rose stood on either side of him and leaned against the railing, “What now?”

Dutch looked over to Arthur, “We’re back and I’m sitting here and I am contemplating the great journey of the sun and considering a famous chess move. Those oily enactors of a mediocre justice, the Pinkertons and their benefactor the depressing millionaire Leviticus Cornwall, they want us, Arthur. They want us...and they are going to have us.”

Rose chuckled for a moment, “Givin’ up, Dutch? That ain’t like ya—“

“No, m’dear. Not at all...”

“Well maybe they ain’t the problem.” Rose looked over to Arthur as he said that. Seemed like a ticking time bomb saying something that.

“Meaning?” Dutch said exasperated and not pleased.

“I don’t know it’s just , well...I can’t help but feel we would’ve been better running off someplace else.”

“But the-- the game ain’t over, Arthur. I mean I ain’t--I ain’t played my...my final move but—“ Dutch almost sounded delirious and it was scaring Rose. She’s ain’t never seen him like this before.

“Dutch—It ain’t worth it.” He looked over at Rose, “I know—it’s been hard...but ya can’t. Ya just—“

Arthur cut in, “I guess I’m more interested in saving lives than...winning at chess.” He started walking behind Dutch.

“Then maybe life ain’t such a thing to cling onto so tightly.”

“Maybe...” Rose sighed.

“What about the women?” Arthur asked, looking at Dutch.

“You sound like Hosea.” A sadness took over Dutch, “I miss...him.”

Arthur was having none of it though, “I asked you a question.”

Dutch looked up at him, “what do you think?”

“We can’t stay here. That much is obvious. But where we gonna run to? I mean they chased us from the west, they chased us over the mountains...they ran us into the sea.”

“Arthur...do you have my back?”

“Always, Dutch...” of course there was no hesitation. He did practically raise him.

Dutch looked over to Rose, “And what about you? Do _you_ have my back, Rose?”

She nodded her head and meant her words. But within them, was doubt. They may have his back, but what about theirs? “Yes I do, Dutch.”

Arthur shook his head, “But there’s more than your back to worry about. We need more money. We been on the run for months now--” Arthur bent down close to Dutch, “And I seen you, killing folk in cold blood like you always told me not to!” Dutch stood up, very bothered by his words, by the truth, “And I’m sorry but I can’t help but think that if we—“

“There is country...in Roanoke Ridge, past Butcher Creek. I believe we could hold. And you and Charles and  Rose...you could take folks up that way. _Micah_ and I need to do some reconnaissance. I ain’t got a final plan, yet.” He turned to look at him, “Arthur, I ain’t got a...I just need time. I need time... and no _traitors_.” Rose saw the way he was looking at Arthur before he walked away, but then the gaze eventually turned onto her.

“Ya better wipe that look off your goddamn face, Dutch Van Der Linde, before I wipe it off for ya.” Her eyes glared at his, bringing him back to somewhat of reality, “Don’t ya start being stupid now...” her eyes softened as she placed her hand on his chest, it defused some of the hostilitytr as he looked at her hand and then at her, “please...”

Rose went to pull away when she felt his hand on hers, holding it tightly against his chest for a few moments, “Can you—tell me something—“ her eyes watched his, wondering what would be next out of his mouth. He moved close to her and looked down, “Tell me—you love me.”

“Dutch—“ she breathed out, “don’t be like this—ya know it won’t mean the same—“

“I ain’t letting go, till you say it.” His grip tightened on her hand, “or are you worried, that you might mean it—“ She didn’t like this Dutch...her eyes watched his, the fear gnawing more and more at her, “then all those secrets you’ve kept, will make sense to you...”

Her eyes shook looking at him, a part of her wondering what secrets he did know about. If he did know any. But the phrase scared her and made her wonder. She swallowed back, breathing slowly as spoke, “I love ya, Dutch.”

A smile spread along his lips, “See? Was that so hard? You better go—and we will be speaking later, m’dear.” 

The minute his grip loosened, she pulled her hand away and hurried after Arthur as he went to go find Charles. What the hell was that all about and what secrets did he know? And why all of a sudden was Micah now part of his important work? And why had Dutch said it the way he did...like Arthur was the one being bad and Micah was suddenly the perfect son? Rose shook her head at the thoughts, she wanted to ignore them all, but the fear was refusing to let her do so. She hurried along the camp grounds over to Charles and Arthur as they mounted their horses.

“You coming?”

“Yeah—“ she climbed up onto Lily and grabbed onto the reins, “let’s go...”

“We need to get this done fast. The Pinkertons will have reinforced in another day or two.”

“Yes, the sooner we get out of here, the better.”

“Couldn’t agree with ya more, Charles...”

They left the camp grounds, trotting along the road before galloping towards their destination, “It’s quite a ride up there. I saw some canoes near the bridge up river which would take us right up to Butcher Creek. Might be quicker. What do you both think?”

“Yeah a boat’s probably a good idea.”

Rose nodded her head, “Yeah and as much as I’d love to disagree...it would be a lot quicker.”

Arthur laughed for a moment, “Just never got over that big ‘ol gator, did ya?”

“Shut up, Arthur.”

Charles shook his head, “Okay, good.”

It was a foggy morning as they went along the road; Rose looked around taking in the silence. But that only spurred on her fears and thoughts that were lurking within her.

“It’s good to see you again, Charles.” Arthur said.

“You too.”

“Thanks for what you did in Saint Denis, real brave drawing them off us like that. I was worried you and Abigail had both got yourselves killed.”

“I found a spot to lie low for a while then managed to get a ride with a wagon of workers heading out to the fields.”

Rose chuckled, Charles looked over at her for a moment, “I thought I saw ya. But I was sure ya went off with Dutch and his boat idea.”

Arthur looked over at Rose, but was talking to the both of them, “You did good getting the others out of there, keeping everyone together.”

“Everybody was pretty shaken up when I got back to Shady Belle. It was a tough few days, I couldn’t have done it without Sadie—“ Charles turned and looked over at Rose, “Or you for that matter.”

“I didn’t do much, Charles.”

“Well, you did enough.” Rose smiled to herself as Arthur chimed in.

“So how did you find that spot back there? I assume the skulls on sticks weren’t an additions of yours.”

Charles laughed, “Old Strauss knew about it. The locals are terrified of the place, so we figured that might buy us some time. And it did... until one of you brought the law with you. And where did you end up again? Cuba?”

“Not exactly. An island off of there called Guarma. Landed ourselves in a heap of trouble.”

“Guess Dutch didn’t like the idea of a tropical island?” She looked over at Arthur, “no good places to plant mangoes?”

Arthur laughed but then coughed for a moment, “I ain’t sure Dutch knows what he wants anymore.” There was truth in that, even with everyone still behind him and following him blindly.

 It started to rain as they neared the bridge, Rose didn’t have her hat anymore making it hard to see at some points. Arthur looked over to her, “Where’s your hat?”

“Ya just noticed? I been without for a while now—“ they trotted off to the side and stopped near the river side.

“No, but I figured ya would have stolen mine by now—“ he looked over at her, seeing her smirk.

Charles pulled their attention as he spoke, “Well I see one canoe anyway. That’ll do, come on.” Charles hopped down from his horse, with Arthur and Rose following suite.  They all walked into the water before hopping into the canoe, Arthur and Charles each grabbed onto a paddle, leaving Rose to balance herself between the two of them in the canoe, “Okay, Butcher Creek is a few miles upriver.” The fog was worse along the river as they made their descent, “So, I spent some time up this way while you were gone. I ran into Rains Fall and Eagle Flies, the Indians? And I’ve been trying to help out a bit where I can at their reservation. Things are bad there...”

Rose gripped tightly onto the side of the canoe, “I feel bad for ‘em...they can’t seem to catch a break.” Then again, neither could they at this point, seem like when everything was going alright, something worse would happen. But it seems like ever since Hosea died...that things were no longer going to get better, no matter what they did.

“Some men there spoke a lot about the Murfree gang that hides out in these caves and we’re going to need to be careful. They’re animals. Everyone is terrified of them.”

“That’s just peachy, Charles---” Rose turned her head to look at Arthur, “I think Dutch failed to mention something...”

Arthur groaned and sighed, “Apparently so—“

“Well, hiding up here...it’s not a crazy idea. This is a spot nobody comes near, even the law. But just be ready...it won’t be pretty.”

“Great...” Rose sighed and continued along the river, she wasn’t able to really enjoy the scenery and if there was any the fog hid it pretty well. Rose would turn her head and look behind at Arthur, he looked so worn out, making her heart ache, until he smiled at her...somehow making it just a little bit better for her.  

It was dark by the time they reached Butcher’s Creek, which didn’t help with the thought that there was a gang that well...everyone was frightened of. They all got out of the canoe and lifted it above their heads as they snuck across the river, to avoid the rocks and placed it in the water again, canoeing for some more length of time till they reached a...dock, which was planks of wood lined up together near the river side. Rose got out and followed Charles along with Arthur following shortly after as they all walked up the road together.

“Beaver Hallow should be to the north of here.”

They walked for a little while, Rose looked over to the right, seeing all the small huts and houses that were lit up, “People...live here?”

“Yeah—everyone might not be like the Murfree gang, but, everyone needs a place to live, right?”

Rose looked over at Charles, “With a bunch of sick degenerates? Who torture and kill for fun? Yeah, sounds like a great place to shack up in.”

Arthur walked beside Rose as they made their way,  Charles shook his head, “You didn’t have to come with us.”

Rose looked over at Arthur and then back at Charles, “No—I couldn’t stay there...I can’t really handle Dutch at the moment...”

 It seemed like they had been walking for a long while and it was a saving grace that Charles saw a couple of horses off to the side and walked over to them, “It’s a bit of a walk, we could grab those horses if you want? They probably won’t miss ‘em if we get them back by morning.”

Rose hurried past Arthur and mounted the horse, “Won’t argue with that—“ Arthur looked up at her, as she grinned, “and you, Mr.Morgan can sit on behind me, for once.”

Arthur sighed, “Fine—“ He climbed behind her and pulled her close, before chuckling against her ear, “but I ain’t gonna make this easy on ya.”

Rose smiled, “Do your worse, Arthur.” she grabbed onto the reins and followed Charles as they trotted along the road, “It’s---ain’t it just...awful. It’s awful. I don’t like it here, Charles...do ya know of any other places?”  

“Sorry—but this is our best bet right now. Unless you’d rather hang—“

Rose sighed, “Oh Charles, sounds real temptin’ at this current moment...”

Arthur slid his hand down along her waist, “You can see why folks don’t want to come ‘round here. Ain’t exactly a welcoming place.”     

“Lots of stories of people going missing round these parts. Just recently a stagecoach from Annesburg, disappeared without a trace coming through here.”

“Guess that’s good for us, assuming these inbred bastards are willing to part with their home, which I’m sure they won’t be too pleased about.” He lightly brushed his lips along her ear, feeling his facial hair tickle her skin.

“Well—here’s hoping there ain’t a whole lot of ‘em...”

Charles looked over to Rose, “That’s why we need to keep it down. They might have lookouts around...”

“Okay.” Arthur said against Rose’s ear, causing a shiver down her spine.

“Alright. Won’t argue with that.” Rose kept her eyes ahead looking down at the dark road, wondering if there was an end to it. She could feel Arthur’s breath against her neck as they went along, making it hard to focus on the task at hand. She had never heard of the Murfree gang, then again, never found herself up this way. For her, all gangs had a sense of death and understanding of this way of life and then there were others...others who just wanted to rape and pillage for the sure fun of it and sure there would be gold. But that’s never what they would want and Rose had the very little pleasure of not running into people like that.

Charles cut through her thoughts as he spoke, “You see that up ahead?” Rose wasn’t sure what she was looking at, she could hardly see a damn thing in the dark, “Slow down, keep it quiet. It could be some of them.” She finally saw what looked like a lantern as it moved up along the road and over the hill, “I say we dismount here and follow them on foot, see where they’re going.” They took the horses off the road and all dismounted, Rose checking both her pistol and rifle before reloading them, “Follow me and stay quiet.”

Rose crouched down low and followed Arthur and Charles along the road, heading up the hill and into the forest, sneaking along till they found two men, standing around a fire as they started talking, “Hold up—hold up, I need a breather.”

Charles looked down, “Definitely Murfrees. I say we deal with them from here. You take one, I’ll take the other—and Rose, keep your eyes out.”

“Right—“

The men’s voice echoed through the forest as they began to argue, Arthur and Charles snuck up behind them, “Why don’t you carry the body for a bit, huh? Why do I always do the carrying?”

“Because I do the skinning.”

Rose shivered and hid behind a tree, holding tightly onto the rifle as she peeked out. They were talking about skinning humans... the thought made her sick. Arthur pulled out his gun and shot the one feller as Charles threw a knife, killing the other one, “C’mon—“ he said as they moved along the road and headed back into the forest, Rose keeping her gun close as they went.  It seemed like it was darker than before, even though only a few minutes had passed.

“We must be close now. Let’s stop and have a look from the top of this hill there.”

Rose hurried over and looked down at the cave there, it didn’t seem all that busy and there were only a few men standing outside, but the better question was...how many were inside? “So what’s the plan fellers?”

Charles pulled out his binoculars, “That’s the stagecoach went missing—“ Charles handed over the binoculars to Arthur.

“Jesus...” he breathed out, clearly seeing something not pleasant.

Rose looked over to him and went to grab onto the binoculars, “Lemme see—“

Arthur handed them back to Charles quickly, “Trust me—it’s best ya don’t...”

“Real comfortin’ boys—“ she looked down at the cave, “don’t seem like any of ‘em are out and ‘bout—“ she moved away from them to get a closer look, “Thinkin’ maybe we can—blow ‘em up.”

“Yeah—flush ‘em out of the cave.” Charles looked over to Arthur, “What do you think?”

“Dynamite would be safer.”

Charles handed Arthur over some Dynamite, “here, let’s be quiet and hope they don’t come out.” They started to make their way down the hill, moving quietly as to not alert anyone to their presence. “Alright—let’s get this over with.”

Rose hurried along with Arthur and Charles as they went towards the cave. However as she neared the cave and looked over, there stood high and proud was an effigy of human body parts and blood, her stomach churned, “Oh god—“ Rose covered her mouth and hunched over.

Charles came over to Rose and grabbed onto her, “You alright?”

“I—I’m—I’ll live—“ she stood up and pulled away from Charles to find a place to take cover, “I hope—“

“Okay—“ Charles said and took some cover, “get in a bit closer, then throw it into the cave.”

Arthur lit up a stick and whipped it into the cave. A loud explosion and a scream echoed through the skies, “Looks like it’s on!” Arthur yelled and lit up another stick of dynamite as a swarm of men came out from the cave. Rose pulled out her pistol, moving out from cover and taking a few shots. Though Arthur just kept on lighting up whatever sticks he had left and kept on throwing them. Rose ran with Charles towards the cave, aiming her pistol and shooting as quick as she could.

“You okay, Rose—Arthur?”

“You weren’t wrong about these crazy sons of bitches.” Arthur yelled out behind the both of them as he shot his gun. Rose went further down into the cave, taking cover when she could with Charles and Arthur somewhere behind her. One of the men came running at her with a machete, swinging hard and violently. Rose ducked when she could, but the blade made contact with her right arm as she lifted it up to block the knife from hitting her head, “Shit—“ she screamed out in pain and aimed her pistol, shooting the man in the chest before shooting him in the head.

Arthur caught up with her and pulled her behind some cover, “Just a walkin’ calamity, ain’t ya—“

“Shut—up—“ she gritted through her teeth, her pistol tight in her hand as she came out and shot, “Just—“ she cried out, feeling the pain throb and wrack her senses. It wasn’t until she heard the sound of someone yelling, a woman’s voice. Rose pulled herself out of cover and continued downwards.

“Rose!” Arthur yelled out after her.

“There’s...someone down here!” she hit against the cave wall taking a breather. Arthur hurried down and whipped another stick of dynamite, covering her as it went off with bits of debris and rock flying all over the place. They hurried down to a large area, where a large cage made out of sticks and inside, was a girl. Rose slowly approached and looked around, wondering if there was anyone else.

“Charles, you see anymore of ‘em?”

“Not for now...come on, let’s get that poor girl out of the cage.”

Arthur went towards the cage, only to have the girl scream and cry at him, “Stay away from me!”

“It’s okay, miss.”

“Please don’t kill me!” Arthur went towards the cage, trying to find a way to get the poor thing out, “Don’t touch me!” she yelled as he went to the front. Rose walked over to Arthur and placed her hand on him.

“Let me—“ she looked down at the cage and pulled out a knife to cut the rope. However, that had scared the girl as she started to scream, “Hey—“ Rose tried to calm her down as she worked quickly, “It’s okay—“ Rose put her knife away and held up her hands, “We ain’t here to hurt ya...”

Arthur slowly moved in and grabbed onto the woman, hugging her gently, “you’re safe. It’s okay.” Rose broke at the sight of the woman, what had they done to her, to make her that afraid? Arthur pulled away, “Come on. It’s time to go. It’s okay.” The woman seemed hesitant of leaving with them, Rose didn’t blame her though. They slowly walked away from the cage, the woman following slowly, “Where you from?”

“Annesburg.”

“What do we do with her?” Arthur looked over to Rose and Charles.

Rose shook her head, “Take the poor dear home, Arthur. What kind of question is that?”

“And while he’s doing that, I’m gonna go and get the others. What about you Rose? You coming with me or going with Arthur? Or you staying here?”

Rose looked over to Arthur and then Charles, “I’ll stay here...try and clean up the place a little bit of it’s...bloody effigies.” Her stomach churned at the thought.

“You sure?” Arthur motioned down to her arm, “You ain’t gonna be able to move much—“

She loves that he cares. She loves him, but for right now, “Would ya stop with that—“ he could sense the tone in her voice, “I ain’t a goddamn child. I have lived through worse and I—“ she closed her eyes, “I’ll be just fine, Arthur.”

“Okay—“ he placed his hand on her shoulder, “I’m sorry.”

A guilt loomed over her, she should be the one apologizing and yet she wasn’t. They walked out of the cave together. Charles hopped onto his horse and galloped away, while Arthur, Rose and the young woman walked towards his horse.

Arthur stopped and looked over at Rose, her cheeks a little red, but thought nothing of it as he placed a kiss softly against her lips before pulling away and mounting his horse and helping the young woman up, “Ya get her home now.”

Arthur nodded his head, “I’ll see ya soon.”

Rose stood there watching as Arthur galloped off in the distance, leaving Rose alone with her thoughts. Quickly she found some fabric and bound up her arm the best she could, before she started on clearing up the bodies from the area. An ache went through her again, though it wasn’t as painful as the last few times. Body after body she cleared away from the cave, dumping them as far away as she could and after the last of the bodies disappeared into the river below, an onset of heat flushed over her. Her feet felt heavy as she walked back to the cave and was starting to feel hot, very hot. She walked back to the cave and stopped outside the entrance of it, as she leaned against the stone; unbuttoning some of her blouse as she tried to breathe, thoughts and memories invaded her senses. No one was here yet, what would happen if she collapsed? Maybe...maybe she’d finally be free.

 

_“Ya don’t understand—“ her father yelled at her, “your mother was sick—so very sick—I had to kill her.”_

_“She was—only coughin’—“_

_Her father grabbed onto her arms tightly, “That’s how it starts—the coughin’ then the blood—then she can’t breathe. You’d get it too, ya and Agatha.” Rose’s face scrunched up in sadness, “Do ya both want to die?”_

 

“Arthur—“ Her breathing was shaky as she leaned there, her memories echoing louder than any shot from a gun. Eventually she lost her strength and sat down on the ground, breathing calmly as she stared at the stone on the other side. Her vision blurring, the wound on her arm felt hot to the touch as she wrapped her arms around herself. Perhaps it was the fever, but she saw someone as they walked over to her and knelt down beside her. She couldn’t believe it though and it made her heart ache, was he really there? “H-hosea?” she whispered out and she swore she could hear him talking back to her.

 

_“M’dear Rose...you’re stronger than this.”_

 

Her eyes shut tightly as a few tears fell down her face, “No—I ain’t.” She whispered, feeling very sleepy, “not-- no more.” It felt like warmth touched her cheek before she faded off into sleep.

 

_“What if you’re wrong, Hosea?”_

_He turned and looked at her, “Then I’m wrong. But you’re not giving yourself enough credit, m’dear. You’re gonna fall in this life, Rose. We all will.”_

_Rose looked down at her father’s pistol, “I—I know.”_

_“And I won’t always be around to help you. But I know-- I know you’re stronger than this.” He smiled softly down at her, “Can ya be strong enough?”_

_Rose looked over to where Agatha was sat with Dutch and watched her, “I can. For Agatha, I can be.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so just SOME clarification as to Arthur and his TB and the fact that YES, Rose kissing him and being close with him would unfortunately give her TB. That being said, from my extensive reading on the internet and how it's transferred and what not. It's not active when she contracts it. It's Latent or inactive, until something triggers it. Like when Arthur got it and got shipwrecked and was wandering around an island. Which I feel is the reason by the time they DID return from Guarma, that it was active and killing him T^T... 
> 
> Now that's just from the internet, I could be wrong...But, we will go with that for story's sake. <3


	7. Beaver Hallow - Pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I don't have much time left on this world no more...
> 
> Things are changing and we are fading, what is there left to do now?
> 
> And Rose...I don't know what I'm gonna tell her...I don't know how to tell her. 
> 
> But the way she looks at me...it's like...she already knows."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this took long and it's only part one. Got busy, trying to get my life in order, depression hit hella hard...and I also got writer's block and well that always sucks.  
> I do hope you enjoy. This is slowly coming to an end though. <3 Thank you for the support. I appreciate the kind words, they help and mean the world to me. <3 <3 <3 
> 
>  Also if you're wondering, there's some parts that Arthur is supposed to do (Like the vaccine run) that Rose ends up doing.

It all seemed like a dream, but then she woke up from the commotion that was going on outside the cave. She looked seeing someone had laid her down on her cot and started a small fire for her. Someone was yelling and it sounded like, Molly. The wound in her arm had been re-bandaged as she looked down at it, before leaving her bed as quick as she could. Heading up the slopes of the cave and to the outside, Molly sounded drunk, she had been gone for god knows how long. Dutch and everyone were standing around as she ranted and raved about.

“Molly calm down—“ Dutch wasn’t too damn pleased one bit.

“I won’t be ignored, Dutch Van Der Linde—I aren’t him--“ Rose slowly walked out towards everyone, “I ain’t her—or any of your stooges—“

“Calm yourself miss—“ Dutch went to walk near her.

“You don’t owe me nothing...I don’t owe you nothing. Nothing!” she yelled at him, before her gaze went to Rose and stomped over to her, with anger in her eyes. “I’ll spit in your eye—I did! I told them!” Rose’s heart dropped in her chest.

“You what?” Dutch turned and looked at her.

 “Yeah, I told ‘em and I’d tell ‘em again. Now I’ve got gods ear—“ she looked between Rose and Dutch.

“You told who what?”

“Mr. Milton and Mr.Ross about the bank robbery—“

Rose stood there watching her, watching her eyes, “It was...you? You!” Rose’s eyes shook, raising her voice as anger and sadness invade her senses. Molly was the reason they lost, Hosea and Lenny?

Molly walked over and pushed Rose roughly, “I wanted them to kill you!” she yelled at her.

Dutch pulled out his gun, aiming it at Molly, “You did what!?”

Molly turned her attention back over to Dutch, “I loved you, you goddamn bastard! Go on shoot me!”

Rose picked herself up from the ground and watched Molly raving about. Arthur started talk to Dutch, “She ain’t worth it—“

Rose knew the rules, you betrayed the group, that was it for you. Molly had done just that, and the only way out for her now was death.  Molly’s laughter echoed through the skies as she staggered around, pointing her finger at Dutch.

“You told on me? You betrayed me?”

“Oh, you’re not so big now, are you!”

Dutch and Arthur argued amongst themselves, “You know the rules!” Dutch yelled at Arthur.

“Oh, not so big now are we, your majesty?” A loud gunshot sounded off, as Molly screamed out, stumbling for a few moments before she fell onto the ground, groaning until she went silent...for good.

Ms.Grimshaw walked over to them as she looked at Arthur, “She knew the rules, Arthur. What the hell is wrong with you? Mr. Pearson, Mr.Williamson get this body outta here and get it burnt. Now get back to work, all of ya! Quit your lollygagging and get back to work!”

Rose stood there for a few moments, looking at Molly’s body before Bill and Simon picked her up and took her away. She really felt bad for Molly...she was in love with Dutch and she...was stupid. But love tended to do that to people. Dutch went towards the cave and stopped, looking over beside him at Rose, “You gonna betray me too?”

“Why?” she turned her head and looked at him, “needin’ an excuse to kill me?” her breathing was slow as she spoke, “ya don’t need it. Feel free to end m’misery any time, Dutch—“

“You want out—then leave.”

Rose smirked, feeling her eyes blur from some tears, “I would. But—there’s just that small part of me that can’t do that to ya.” She began to walk away from him but felt his hand grab hard and fast on her arm, stopping her, “You’re a fool, Dutch. A goddamn fool...”

“Why? Cause I love you?” her eyes went over to his, “No—that can’t be it...”

She stood there, looking out and watching Arthur walk off the camp grounds, before looking back at Dutch, “Well, that does make ya a fool...“ it seemed like he was getting closer each second that they stood there together, “But there’s just so much more that you’re not understandin’ Dutch--”

He pulled her close, his eyes looking down at hers, “Then tell me what it is!”

“It would be too easy tellin’ ya the answer to that, Dutch.” She pulled her arm from his grip, “gonna hafta wait—“ 

“For what, Rose? Don’t play games with me—“

“For whatever happens, Dutch...” she turned her head and looked at him, “I best be goin’...” Rose walked away from him and hurried after Arthur, if she could even catch up with him at this point. His horse was still nearby, so clearly he hadn’t left too far from the camp grounds. It was just a ways down the path when she heard the coughing, and turned her head, seeing Arthur standing there with a smoke in his mouth, “Arthur—“

He turned his head, “This whole place is falling apart. Molly—“ he shook his head  and sighed, “Can’t believe she sold us out.”

Rose walked over in front of him and wrapped her arms around him, leaning against his frame and listening to his heart beat in his chest. His other hand going to her head, lightly playing with her hair, “I’m scared, Arthur...maybe—“ she closed her eyes for a moment, “maybe we should leave. Get out while we can—“

Arthur shook his head, “No. I can’t do that. There’s still good people here...they need to get out and I can’t leave that to chance—“ he looked down at her, “If ya wanna go then—“

She placed her fingers over his lips, silencing him, “No, Arthur. It was either we both go, or not at all.” She looked up at his eyes, “I’m with ya, wherever ya go.” He bent down and kissed her lips softly, before resting his forehead against hers, “we should head out and meet with Sadie. Get that sorry bastard out of jail.”

Rose pulled away, “Yeah. Ya know...Dutch ain’t gonna like that one bit. Goin’ behind his back--”

He smirked, “You’re one to talk.”

“I know—But—Dutch he—he ain’t the same no more. Just thinkin’ we should be careful.”

They began to walk back to camp and over to where their horses were hitched, Arthur looked over at her as he grabbed onto the reins, “we will.” They both mounted their horses and slowly trotted out of camp together. Rose could feel the burning gaze in the back of her head as she left camp with Arthur and headed towards Saint Denis. When they reached the city and went across the bridge, Rose looked over to Arthur for a moment.

“I need to make a stop somewhere, should I meet ya at the bar when I’m done?”

Arthur nodded his head, “Yeah, I’ll—“ he coughed, hard, his hand pressing to his chest, “—see you there.” He looked over at her, seeing such sadness, “you okay?”

Rose smiled sadly, “I—I’m fine.” But she was thinking otherwise for Arthur. She couldn’t tell him to go to the doctor, even though he might listen to her. “I’ll see ya there—“ she trotted off slowly and headed into the city, making a stop at the general store to pick up a few supplies. Her mind was somewhere else completely with the thought of Molly’s body on the ground, now coupled with the thought of Arthur’s body lifeless on the ground. She stopped and leaned her head against the wall, trying to breathe through her thoughts, “Stop it—“

“Miss—“ she felt someone grab onto her shoulder, which caused her to whip around. The store owner backed away for a moment, “sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You okay miss?”

“I—I’m sorry. Was lost in thought for a moment...” she grabbed a few more things she needed and brought them over to the counter, shaking her head at herself, “I tend to do that a lot.”

“No worries, Miss. We all lose ourselves. Find myself doing quite the same thing.”

Rose laughed softly, wondering if he was just saying it to be nice, she did feel quite foolish, “Well, glad to know I ain’t alone.” Quickly she paid for her things and placed them in her satchel, heading back out to her horse and over to the bar where Sadie was waiting. As she hitched her horse, she noticed Arthur’s horse was nowhere to be seen  and when Rose walked into the bar and only saw Sadie, a worrying feeling fell over her.

Sadie looked up seeing her, “Well, glad one of ya knows your way here—“

“He ain’t here?”

Sadie took swig of her drink, “Nope. Haven’t seen him. But since you’re here—“ Rose quickly left in the middle of her sentence as she walked back outside and looked up and down the street.

“Ya shoulda been here before me...” She didn’t bother getting her horse and made her way down and stopped turning her head down the road and seeing a figure walking up. She stood there and then slowly made her way along the street, realizing it was Arthur and he looked lost in thought, “Arthur!” she yelled out. But he didn’t bother looking at her.

 Eventually her yelling caught his attention, as he came up from the thoughts he was having and looked at her, “Rose...”

She walked up to him, seeing the blood lightly along his lips and the distant look in his eyes. “Here—“ she reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, handing it over to him. Her heart tightened in her chest, “What happened, Arthur?”

He looked down at her with his eyes so red, his breathing ragged and short. She stood there waiting for an answer, when all he said was, “I love you, Rose.”

A pain bubbled up in her, “I—I love ya, too, Arthur—“ she reached out and cupped his face, running the pads of her thumbs along his cheeks, “don’t change the subject on me.”

He chuckled deep in his chest, causing him to cough, “I ain’t.”

Her eyes looked sad, watching him, “you’re a goddamn liar.”

“We’ll talk, Rose. Right now ain’t the time—“  he stopped, thinking he heard Dutch’s voice. Rose grabbed onto him and pulled him along till they were around the corner and out of sight, “Was that Dutch—“

Rose peeked her head out, “It is. He’s with Micah. So you’re gonna need to listen to me, Arthur.” He looked down at her, “Ya go and help Sadie get John’s sorry ass outta jail. I’ll go and make sure he don’t find out—sooner than he has too.”

Arthur sighed, “We need you on this—“ he stopped, “I need you.”

She smiled at the statement, “Look, if Dutch finds out about this and with Micah with him? Ya both won’t be going and rescuin’ no one.”

“Yeah well, Micah is a lot of things, Rose.”

“He’s a rat. And right now, that rat, is sayin’ shit to Dutch and tellin’ everyone else that you’re the one, sayin’ bad things—“

“Who told you that?”

“Bill—he’s may not all be there but, he’s got his uses.”

Arthur groaned and shook his head, “I guess.”

“The more we talk, the less time you’re gonna have to get John back and safe...” her fingers ran along his jacket and pulled him close, “Now—“ her lips pressed against his softly, “get that bastard out.”

“Yes ma’am.” Arthur nodded his head and pulled away from her, heading over and into the bar. Rose went over and mounted her horse, trotting through the streets. Wondering what the hell Dutch and Micah were doing in town, but the fact that Micah was suddenly his new right hand man, didn’t sit well with her. It was Dutch’s voice that brought her back to reality, as she turned her head seeing him and Micah.

“Ms.Reeds, how lovely to see you.”

Rose smiled and laughed, “well Dutch, it’s only been a couple of hours.” Her eyes went over to Micah’s for a moment, “what are ya both up too?”

Dutch looked at her, avoiding her question completely, “Where’s Arthur? I thought I saw you leave with him.”

“I don’t really know, Dutch. I don’t tend to keep tabs on him.”

He nodded his head, “Alright, m’dear. Then since you’re in town, maybe you’d like to help me and Mr.Bell here with something.”

Rose wasn’t sure she wanted to help out with anything, it worried her. But she nodded her head, “What ya need?”

Dutch came close to her and looked up, “Micah and I have seemed to have found our good old friend, Mr.Cornwall. Heard he’s buying a mine up in Annesburg, trying to find out if he knows we’re here and what his plans our. If you could head to Annesburg and find out anything, would be great help.”

Rose nodded her head, “And then where do ya want me to meet ya when I’m done?”

Dutch smirked, “I’ll meet ya in Annesburg, while Mr.Bell here, goes sniffing for more information.”

Rose chuckled, “Well, if anyone’s good at finding shit, it’s certainly Micah.”

Micah’s eyes edged at her, before he grinned, “Don’t flatter me too much, Bitch Mouth—“

Rose closed her eyes at the mention of that name and chose to ignore it. She looked down at Dutch, “I’ll see ya in a few days, Dutch.” she trotted away from the both of them slowly, feeling the burning gaze before she rounded the corner and headed along the streets and out of town. The uneasiness took over very quick, even though she was heading away from the two of them and wasn’t even sure where to begin to asking questions about Mr.Cornwall. He shouldn’t know that they’re around or back for that matter, unless someone has told him. He is the one that’s been paying money into the Pinkertons...and yet, they always seemed to know where they were. Molly may have admitted to selling them out, and as much as Rose did believe it, a part of her was feeling uncertain about that, wondering if maybe there was someone else in the group that had sold them out. It took a few hours to travel from Saint Denis up towards Annesburg, Rose hadn’t really ever travelled up that way before.

And now she was on a wild goose chase for information.

But that wasn’t on her mind, Arthur was and so was Dutch. The camp had gotten so dark, there didn’t seem to be any happiness anymore. Dutch was losing his mind and Arthur...well he just didn’t look all that well anymore. At this rate, Rose would die of a broken heart. She missed the old days, and how Dutch used to be. The trotting dulled down to a stop as she stared blankly at the road ahead of her, “where did we go wrong?” she whispered out, with only the breeze answering her back. Everything was changing, things were getting worse, and if Arthur was as sick as Rose thought he was…then there wouldn’t be much time left for him. After some time, Rose continued forward, finally reaching Annesburg not long after.

“Alright, Cornwall…” her eyes scanned around the town after she hitched her horse and pulled away, walking along the streets, “where the hell could ya be?”Annesburg wasn’t a big place at all, she didn’t know how anyone could live there, didn’t seem like a prospering town and there didn’t seem to be a saloon here. But there was a gunsmith, maybe he’d have some information she could delve on. Mostly everything she needed was along the one strip of the road, as she made her way over to the gunsmiths. She walked into the store and headed over to the counter, “Afternoon, sir.”

He nodded his head in acknowledgment, “Afternoon, miss. What can I do ya for?”

Rose pulled out both her pistol and the rifle placing them down on the counter, “well, would like these cleaned up and lookin’ mighty fine. Also was having an issue, one of ‘em wasn’t firing...”

“Well if ya don’t keep your guns clean, that’ll happen. But I can do that for ya.” The man grabbed onto the pistol first and began to clean it thoroughly.

“I heard Mr.Cornwall was plannin’ on invest in’ some money on a mine up this way. Is that true?”

The man didn’t look up from the gun, but still continued his work, “Leviticus Cornwall? Yeah, at least that’s what I had heard as well.”

Rose nodded her head, “ya know if he’s in town?”

“Don’t think so, miss. Not lot of places around here to stay at. Reckon he’d gone back to Saint Denis. Can probably better accommodate him there.” He placed down the pistol and grabbed onto the rifle, cleaning it, “can’t say I like the feller though.”

“Same here.” Rose sighed and leaned against the counter, “same here…”

“Why ya looking for him?”

“Business opportunity. He doesn’t seem like a man that would turn something like that down. He also doesn’t seem like a man that willingly would get his hand dirty.”

The man placed the rifle down, as Rose went into her satchel and pulled out some money, “why would ya, when ya can pay someone to do the dirty work? Just between you and me.”

“Right.” Rose grabbed onto her guns, placing the pistol in her holster and the rifle on the strap behind her back, “well thank ya for your time, sir.” She went to walk away when she stopped and turned to face him, “where does one find lodging ‘round here?”

There wasn’t really a motel to stay at, only a small house that she could rent. But she settled into the home just fine, it was only until Dutch could get here and then she could leave and go back to camp...not that it would be any better to be at camp. Rose stared out the small window as she lit up a smoke, the tobacco burning her throat as she inhaled. Hours went by as she hid in the home, starting to wonder if maybe she should just leave and head back, forget about waiting for Dutch. But then the door opened, she pulled out his pistol quickly and aimed it.

“Whoa—watch where you’re pointing that thing, m’dear.”

She shook her head and put her gun back, “Can’t be too careful, Dutch. Ya out of all people should know that...”

The sound of his footsteps came up behind her, as she kept her eyes out the window, “Managed to find out anything about our good, Mr.Cornwall?”

“Ain’t nothing much, other than that he’s stayin’ in Saint Denis. I think, to be honest I don’t even think no one knows... He was here in town recently, but left.” She turned her head to look behind her at Dutch, “Sorry, not much to go on. Ya and Micah have any luck?”

“Perhaps.”

She was confused by his short answer and turned to face him, watching him closely, “Perhaps? What’s the matter Dutch? Don’t wanna talk to me no more?” he walked close to her, backing her up against the window.

“I don’t know who I can trust anymore, Rose.” He reached his hand out and lightly brushed it against the side of her face.

“Ya can trust me, Dutch. I’ve been through enough with ya to earn that trust.”

He moved closer to her, and rested his forehead against hers. “Is that so?” he breathed out and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Dutch—“ her hands went up to his chest, “Please, don’t—“

“Don’t what?” he looked down at her eyes, “Tell me, Rose.” But she just looked at him, unsure of what to say. She was tired of everything and nothing seemed to be getting better and she didn’t know what else to do, except wrap her arms tightly around Dutch’s neck and pull him close. For once it seemed to off put him and whatever he was thinking about as his arms wrapped around her waist and held her close, “Rose--“ he whispered against her ear.

Her eyes closed as she stood there on the tips of her toes, her fingers gripping into the locks of his hair, “Dutch--“ she brushed her lips lightly along his cheek, causing a small groan to sound from him. But for once, he pulled away from her, leaving her standing there as she looked at him. He seemed conflicted about something as his eyes went to hers.

“You speak about this trust that you’ve earned and if that is the case then—“ he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small photo and held it out to Rose, “Who is Noah Van Der Linde?” he sounded so broken and confused. Did she really need to answer that question, or did he just want confirmation of what he was truly thinking?

 Her eyes shook as she looked between him and the picture, he had found it and it was her own damn fault. She wanted to grab the goddamn thing and rip it to shreds. Well she was going to have to and lunged, grabbing the photo from him. Her fingers tried to work quickly at ripping the photo, but Dutch’s one arm wrapped tightly around her waist and the other grabbed onto her hand pulling it away, “Let—Go of me!” she screamed and tried to kick and squirm. The photo floated down onto the ground as she tried to fight out of his grasp. But his grip only tightened on her as he held her close, his breathing ragged against her ear.

“Enough of this!—“ he sounded angry, as if she had betrayed him, “Who is he—“

“No one—“ she gritted out through her teeth, feeling the tears threatening to fall, “He ain’t no one—“

“You’re a liar, Ms.Reeds.” She moved some more in his arms, only to have him fall against the wall with her. But he still held her there, “You better start talking.”

Her eyes closed and eventually her energy left, as she slumped against him, “I—I didn’t lose the baby.  I didn’t think I was gonna make it after Agatha and I had that run in with that gang...but I survived and so did—the baby.”

Dutch’s eyes went down to the photo on the floor, “that’s... our son?” he seemed happy for a moment until his tone changed, “And you kept that from me?”

She pulled away from him, “I did what I had too! And I’d do it all again, if it meant you’d never find him—“ Dutch hurried over to her and pushed her roughly against the wall, his eyes glaring at hers, though they looked sad.

“You lied to me! How could you not tell me—“

“Because I don’t want him living this life! This isn’t for him and I ain’t lettin’ ya ever bring him here—I will kill you, Dutch Van Der Linde, if ya ever lay a finger on that boy’s head—“ His grip loosened as he went and knelt down onto the floor, resting his head against her stomach. She looked down at him, “Dutch...” slowly and lightly he pressed his lips against her stomach. Her cheeks turned a deep red as he moved her shirt, his lips making contact with her skin and sending an arousing feeling down and throughout her legs.

His fingers worked at the buttons on her shirt, exposing her as he came up and pressed his body against hers, “You’d think I’d let harm befall our boy?”

“He’s happy where he is. I ain’t lettin’ ya take that away from him.”

His lips pressed softly and lightly against hers, “You took fatherhood away from me—“ his eyes shook looking down at hers, “You took yourself away from me—that’s all you do. All you do is take.”

“Is that what ya think of me?“ she smiled, maliciously, “Well, Dutch—Ya can go fuck—“ he pressed his lips roughly against hers and pulled at her pants, unbuttoning them and pulling them down roughly, letting her step out of them. Gasps and moans escaped her lips as he held here there, up against the wall, her fingers tight in his hair. He went and unbuttoned his pants, freeing his cock. She closed her eyes and tightened her legs around his waist as he poked and prodded against her soaking cunt. His fingers gripped hard into her hips as he slid inside of her, feeling every inch of her hot and wet around him. He stilled for a moment, pressing his lips against her neck and taking in the scent of her before fucking her hard and fast against the wall. Her eyes clenched shut, feeling a few tears slide down her cheeks as she held him close. There was nothing more in this world for her to hide from Dutch, he knew about their boy...and nothing but dread filled her senses as she held onto him. Crying out each time his cock would hit hard against her sweet spot.

His lips lightly tickled against her, “I love you—“ he paused as a groaned echoed throughout her head, “and somehow—I think you love me too...”

 

For the longest time she didn’t say anything in response to that, she wasn’t sure what to say. Maybe he was right...Rose sat up in the bed, having a smoke and contemplating her next decision. One that she was certain would piss Dutch off, but one she needed to do. She needed time to get back without Dutch breathing down her damn neck. Slowly and quietly she stood up from bed and changed into her clothing, before grabbing onto some rope that was left in the cabin and walked over to Dutch. He was beginning to stir at some point during her tying knots around his wrists. But she finished just in time as the sound of his angry voice echoed throughout the small house, “If this is your idea of a joke, it ain’t funny.”

Rose turned and looked over at Dutch on the bed, “I ain’t laughin’.” He didn’t seem happy with that answer, “It’s just a precaution.”

He pulled at the ropes, but found he had no luck, “For what exactly?”

“So ya don’t follow me. This’ll give ya some time to think, Dutch. Without anyone breathin’ down your neck.”

“Untie me right now, Rose. This isn’t funny!”

She stood there at the door watching him, “You’ll be able to get the knots undone. Just not for a while. I’ll see ya back at camp—“

“Rose!” he yelled out through his teeth, “what the hell is wrong with you?”

She walked over to the bed and looked down at him, “What’s the matter? I thought ya liked being tied up.” Her eyes danced along his figure, “Maybe this’ll give ya some perspective.”

“Rose—“ he watched her, “Please—“

“I’ll see ya back at camp, Dutch.” She reached her hand out and lightly touched the side of his face before she pulled away and left the house. As the door shut she was surprised not hearing any yelling or anger from him. She walked away from the house and went to get her horse before heading out of Annesburg and back towards camp, wondering if Arthur and Sadie had succeeded in getting John back and safe in one piece.

By the time she got back to the camp there was still no sign of Sadie or Arthur, a part of her was a little worried, getting John out of prison would be no easy feat. She hitched her horse and did a few chores around the camp, but it seemed like there was less and less to do. Everyone was gloomy, and it was hitting hard on the camp. Rose was surprised that no less than a few hours later, Dutch came back and she was sure he would have something to say to her, but he didn’t. All he did was smile at her, and that made her uneasy.

 

It was the next day that Arthur and Sadie had returned with John as they came trotting back into camp. Rose was sitting with Abigail as she hurried from her and went over to Sadie, “You brought him back to me!”

Sadie looked over at her, “We told you we would.” She walked away leaving her and John alone. Rose went over to Arthur, hugging him tightly.

Dutch’s voice echoed over the entire camp, and he didn’t sound pleased at all, “John!” Dutch and Micah made his way over to him, “What are you doing here?”

“It’s good to see you too, partner.”

Her and Arthur slowly made their way over to the lot of them, Rose knew that he wasn’t going to be pleased about John being back, especially without a plan...then again, she was starting to think that he wasn’t even going to bother with getting John out.

“I meant I hadn’t sent for you yet.”

Arthur grabbed onto Rose’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze before walking over to Dutch, “I went.” Rose followed over quickly, Dutch wasn’t happy at all.

“But I said—“

“Yeah, I know what you said. I felt different.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.” Arthur wasn’t going to stand down from this; Rose looked between the two of them. She knew Arthur did the right thing, because Dutch probably wasn’t even going to bother getting John out at all. He was losing his mind, and with Micah whispering sweet nothings to him...there was no going back for anyone at this point.

“And when springing John brings the law down on all of us...what then, Arthur?”

“Well I guess we’ll have another fight on our hands.”

Dutch glared at him, his eyes never leaving his, “Loyalty, Arthur, it ain’t...I had a goddamn plan!” He looked over to John, “John...John...you are my brother, you are my son. I was coming for you.”

John sighed, “they—they was talking of hanging me, Dutch.” Abigail looked like she was gonna throttle Dutch, but John held up his arm, swaying her from doing so.

“They was talking...” Dutch slowly backed away from the lot of them, “they was talking. And now they may come and hang us all.”

Rose stood silently with Arthur, before a cough started up again. She looked over at him and grabbed onto his hand, “Don’t listen to him, Arthur...somehow I knew this was gonna happen...”

“I know...” he looked over at her, “you alright?”

She shook her head and sighed, “No—I ain’t. But I should be the one askin’ ya that.” He nodded his head, “ya owe me a little chat, Arthur. ‘Bout before in Saint Denis.”

“C’mon then...” he grabbed onto her hand and walked with her, they found a place under a tree and sat together. He leaned his head back and sighed, but his hand stayed holding onto hers. It looked like he was having a hard time trying to get out the words. After some time, he turned his head and looked down at her, keeping her close as  he spoke, “I have Tuberculosis—“ he hunched over and coughed, it was rough and it was breaking her heart watching him. “With the way the doctor was talking...it don’t sound like I got much time, Rose.“

Her eyes looked into his and gripped tightly onto his hand, “I don’t think any one of us have time anymore...” she looked out at the camp and sighed, “Sadie, Tilly, Mary-beth, Karen...Abigail and Jack...They’re the ones that need to get out.”

Arthur looked down at her, “And what ‘bout you?”

She chuckled for a moment, “what ‘bout me? Ya tryin’ to get rid of me?”

“No, but ya can’t possibly want to spend the time you have with a dyin—“

She crawled into his lap and straddled his hips as she looked down at him. His eyes were so red, she felt like crying, but decided against it, “Mr.Morgan—“ she tried to speak out, but heard her voice wavering, “Ya don’t get to decide that. I love ya with every bit of me. If you’re dyin’...I intend to spend time with you, till your last—breathe.” It was painful to say that, even if it was the truth.

His hands snaked up around her and pulled her close, resting her head on his right shoulder, “I want you to go and live your life. Do something better with it—“

She closed her eyes, feeling the heat from his breathe against her ear, “I’m not doin’ this any other way, Arthur. It’s me and ya...till the end.” Her arms wrapped around him as she hugged him and kissed his cheek. His eyes closed at the contact, and held onto her as they both sat there in silence. It felt like forever, but then Mary-Beth came over to them.

“Sorry to interrupt—“

Rose pulled away for a moment and turned, “Oh, Mary-Beth. Is everything alright?” Rose moved off of Arthur, and sat down beside him as Mary-Beth looked between the two of them.

“Yeah, Dutch said to tell you, he and Micah have gone to Annesburg something about Mr.Cornwall.”

Rose shook her head and stood up from the tree and walked over to Mary-Beth, “That son of a bitch. I was JUST there like yesterday and now he probably wants us back there...”

Arthur came up behind Rose, “Cornwall, huh?” he sighed, “Thanks, Mary-Beth.” She nodded her head and walked away from the two of them, “You were in Annesburg?”

“I was, yesterday. Dutch said he wanted me to go and find out information, I found out Mr.Cornwall is stayin’ in Saint Denis and Dutch is back in Annesburg...With Micah.” She sighed, “I ain’t feelin’ all that good ‘bout that.”

Arthur motioned towards the horses, “well, c’mon, can’t keep them waiting...”

Rose laughed and followed him over to the horses, “there plenty of things we can do, Arthur. Making them wait is one of ‘em.”

 As they made their way over to the horses, Karen stumbled into them and she was piss drunk, “Ooohoo, look who it is.”

“Hello, Karen.” Rose and Arthur both spoke.

“Look who it is...old Arthur...big tough Arthur...You wanna know something, Arthur?”

He sighed, “What?”

She paused and then she laughed, “I don’t know...I don’t know...I had something to say...I did...”

“Take it easy, Karen, on the hooch.”

Rose shook her head and smacked his arm, “Ya fool—now she’s gonna—“

Karen cut her off, “Why? Because a good sober life will bring me peace and contentment? What a crock of shit this world is.”

Rose stood there looking at her and felt bad. Everything was getting worse and everyone was stuck in the middle of the whole damn thing. Karen wasn’t handling it well though and it seemed worse after Ms.Grimshaw shot Molly. Rose went to reach out and say something, but Karen turned from the two of them and walked away, “This isn’t gettin’ easier for anyone ‘round here...” she looked over at Arthur as they reached the horses, “what are we supposed to do now?”

Arthur mounted his horse, “find out what Dutch wants.”

Rose mounted her horse and slowly trotted out of camp with Arthur, before galloping along the roads towards Annesburg. She wasn’t even sure if she was supposed to be going with Arthur, but at this point she didn’t care. Leviticus Cornwall was always on Dutch’s mind, and Rose for the longest while as they went through the land, wondered exactly what Dutch had planned...more or less what Dutch had planned with Micah. Those two were becoming like two peas in a pod and it wasn’t comforting for Rose. Dutch was losing his mind, and if Micah was spouting shit outta that mouth of his...there wasn’t going  to be a chance in hell of pulling Dutch back from it.

They headed down the only street in Annesburg and hitched their horses, walking over to a pair of stairs between the small houses that were lined up. Rose walked in front of Arthur and as she walked near the door, Micah came out and grabbed onto her, shoving her roughly against the wall of the other house, “Was you followed?”

“No—“ she gritted through her teeth.

“Was you followed?” he asked again, which only spurred on her anger.

“ Let her go, Micah—“ Arthur started to cough, as Micah pulled away from Rose.

“Okay.” He laughed at the state Arthur was in as he coughed.

“What is your problem?” Arthur asked angrily.

Micah looked at Rose for a moment and then back at Arthur, “What is your problem, partner? You don’t—uh—you don’t look so good.”

“Enough Micah—“ Rose stood in between the two of them, “Shut that goddamn mouth of yours, before I blow it off...”

“Oh, Bitch Mouth’s still got it. Always coming to Black Lungs rescue--” He looked at her, “You look like shit.”

She smirked at him, her hand on her pistol, “Ya really wantin’ to get shot? I’d be more than glad—“

“That’s enough—“ Dutch’s voice cut in as he walked over to the three of them. Rose took a few moments, watching his eyes before he spoke, “Micah reckons there’s a rat.”

Rose laughed, “Oh and I bet it’s this little fucker right here—“ she turned her head and glared at Micah.

“I’d watch that mouth of yours if I were you.” Micah grinned, making her feeling uncomfortable.

Arthur looked at Dutch, “There’s a rat? On what evidence?”

“We’s only back a minute, Pinkertons show up.”

Arthur laughed, “We been on the run since you two fools went crazy in Blackwater. We barely escaped with our lives in Saint Denis...now we got a rat?”

“Well, Molly clearly talked. But, who else?”

“Maybe we pushed things too hard?” Micah rolled his eyes and walked down the stairs, “Maybe time for folks like us is passed. We don’t need a rat. We got sloppier than the town drunk and they know who we are and where we are and what we’re doing.”

Micah walked close to Dutch and looked over at Arthur and Rose, “Way I see it, best thing we can do is let the weak go, move on, get our money and start over.” Micah patted his shoulder.

Rose gripped tightly onto her pistol, watching how Micah was talking with Dutch. She was furious, and wanted oh so much to shoot him. Arthur grabbed onto her hand, bringing her back to reality, “You’d like that, wouldn’t ya, Micah?” he looked over at her, “Dutch ain’t like that...” the words she had spoke, she was wondering if that was even the truth anymore.

Dutch looked over at her, nodding his head in agreement, “That ain’t happening.”

Arthur shook his head, “Well, something’ gotta happen and fast. Otherwise, Cornwall, them Pinkertons, they’ve got us pinned here, and ain’t none of them stopping.”

Micah chimed in, “Well, Cornwall’s why we’re here.”

Rose went past Arthur and walked down the stairs, “I was told Mr.Cornwall would be in Saint Denis.”

Micah turned to face her, “He’s heading up here today, on his boat. Now--shall we,  Dutch?”

“Yeah, it’s time to go. Let’s head to the river.” Dutch and Micah started to walk away from her and Arthur.

“Ah, leave Cornwall alone. He ain’t...look, we need money, but revenge? Now?”

Rose turned and looked behind at Arthur, “He’s got a point. WE need money, ya’ll don’t need revenge—“

“You know damn well, it’s for money.” Micah smirked at her, “C’mon, Rose...”

Dutch looked between her and Arthur, wondering if they were even going to bother coming along. Arthur sighed, “This better not be no stupid revenge mission, Dutch. It ain’t worth it.”

“Oh Arthur—“ Dutch touched his arm, “It’s just a simple social call.” Both Dutch and Micah laughed as they walked away from the two of them.

Rose looked over at Arthur, “Like that social call they wanted to make to Mr.Bronte? I don’t feel very good ‘bout this, Arthur...not good at all...”

“C’mon.” Arthur started on ahead, following Dutch and Micah. She stood there for a few moments looking and wondering if this was really a good idea. But she ran after the lot of them, as Arthur started to talk, “So, what are we going to say to him that needs to be said?”

“He has been hunting us since Valentine. He is the reason Hosea got killed. His sugar business, is destroying the people of Guarma. This town, Arthur, is his town.” They walked through the streets and over to one of the houses, walking along the porch and down the side towards the docks, “he bought it just to destroy these folks. His sugar. His oil. His law.”

“These are wrongs that you can’t right, Dutch. We’re wanted men.”

Dutch laughed for a moment, “So why did you go for John against my wishes?”

Rose looked over at Arthur, she knew he wasn’t happy about that little move, “I didn’t want him hanged.” Arthur answered.

“Neither did I.” Dutch answered back.

“Ya sure ‘bout that?” Rose said, only to realize she had said it out loud. Dutch stopped walking and looked over at her.

“Do you doubt me, Rose?”

Her breathe was shaky as she spoke, “It just--didn’t seem like ya really wanted to help, Dutch.”

He walked close to her, his eyes burning into hers, “m’dear, I always want to help—“ he ran the pad of his thumb light along his lips before he reached out and ran the pad of his thumb along her lips before saying, “ _Always_...”

Dutch pulled away as they continued walking, Micah looked over at Arthur, “We’re gonna cut a deal, Arthur. “

“What are you talking about?”

“We want out, and Cornwall wants us to stop robbing him and we all know his money is what’s keeping the Pinkertons on our tail. He’s America, Arthur. And I want out. And he...he won’t let us go.”

Arthur wasn’t convinced though and Rose wasn’t buying it. There was only one way this was gonna end and having a chat wasn’t it, “This ain’t making a lot of sense, Dutch.”

“It will son...it will...a deal...some noise and then we’re gone.” They walked along the docks out towards the river and over to a cove with some boxes in it, “Cornwall’s boat is due in soon. Let’s get down here behind these crates.”

Rose followed along and went and hid behind one of the crates, near Dutch and pulled out a smoke, lighting it up as they waited. Though she wasn’t even sure how long that would be, it was really foggy out near the water, making it impossible to see anything at this point.  
Hours went by; Rose wasn’t sure how many as a boat finally came to the docks and began to un-board a few people, Mr. Milton and Mr.Ross being a few of them.

“I wanna thank you for your hospitality, Mr.Cornwall.” Mr.Milton said as he walked off the boat and onto the dock.

“This was a business meeting, Mr.Milton. We are not friends—“ Leviticus Cornwall walked out onto the boat, “I have spent a considerable fortune with your agency and still nothing...” Rose peeked her head up, looking at the lot of them talking. Arthur and Dutch slowly looking over the crates as well, “This Van Der Linde robs me, and laughs at me. I asked for the best. I paid for the best—“

“We are very close, Mr.Cornwall. I know you’ve heard this before—“ 

“Janson—“

A man came up onto the boat, “Sir—“

“Send a telegram to Goldberg in New York, tell him I won’t borrow at more than 3.2%.” Cornwall turned his attention back to Milton, “Sorry, no. I have heard it before—“ he turned and yelled out, “and get that army man to pay his portage charge.” He yelled out to Janson.

Milton spoke again, “We are doing all we can within the confines of the law.”

“The law? I think we both know what you can do with your laws. Find me Dutch Van Der Linde! Bring him here, and leave the laws to them as need them! Good day sir!” Rose looked over at Dutch as he turned and looked at her, before taking his attention back out to Cornwall.

Rose was drowning out the rest of the conversation that Cornwall was having with someone else. Dutch turned to Micah, motioning him to follow and make sure, Mr. Milton and Ross were leaving. Dutch finally cut into the conversation as he revealed himself from the shadows. Rose wasn’t sure she wanted to bother moving and gave Dutch a look, wondering what the hell he was doing. He nodded his head and looked over to them, beckoning the both of them, like they could trust what he was doing and Rose wasn’t sure that they could. However out of loyalty...she came out. Arthur followed along not too far behind.

“Perhaps there is a plague on your house already, Mr.Cornwall.”

He looked over at Dutch, grimacing at him, “What do you want, sir?”

Dutch walked slowly, “I’m not quite sure, just yet—“

There was anger brewing from Cornwall, “Your impudence will be your undoing, sir.”

“I’m undone already. Even my best friend here, he thinks I’m crazy and like this poor fellow you are talking to...my feelings are hurt.”

“You robbed me, sir—“

Dutch pointed, “And you robbed him. Funny world.”

Rose watched between the two of them, wondering what the hell was gonna come of this conversation as it went on for a little while back and forth. If it was money that Dutch wanted, she was certain Cornwall wasn’t planning on handing any over to the lot of them.

“I’ll tell you what. You give me this ship, ten thousand dollars and safe passage out of here. I’ll let you live.”

Rose slowly walked over to Dutch, “Dutch—“ she lightly touched his shoulder, “we need to go—“

Cornwall’s laughter echoed through her ears as he turned to his men, “I’ll do no such thing—“

Dutch yanked his shoulder away, as a smile playing along his lips, “You sure...Good, I prefer it this way.” And quickly he pulled out his gun and shot Cornwall in the chest, as he fell onto the ground, bleeding out.

Rose ran to take some cover and heard Arthur yell out, “You’ve lost your mind.” And she completely agreed with that, for that, it broke her heart. It felt like time was closing in on the lot of them.

“Noise, Arthur! Noise!”

Rose pulled out her pistol and began to shoot down a few of the men on the boat. While a few others ran off and onto the docks. Arthur came out of cover shooting down who he could, feeling a few bullets graze past him. Rose kept shooting till she came back down and reloaded her gun, only to hear Dutch say.

“Oh shit, Pinktertons!”

“What the hell have you done, Dutch?” Arthur moved from cover.

“Guess he don’t fuckin’ know!” she moved from cover and hit behind another crate, “Have ya lost your goddamn mind, Dutch!” she yelled out at him.

“Worth my damn bullet, Rose—now shut up and help us fight—“

Rose gritted her teeth as she felt a bullet nick her skin, “Why don’t ya get your new fuck boy to do it—“ She switched to the rifle and began to shoot down a few men along the docks towards the town.

Dutch shook his head, shooting off his gun, “C’mon, Micah’s gone after those papers!” Rose followed Arthur as they ran down the dock, trying to keep up with Dutch, “Let’s find him and get out of here!” Rose ran as quick as she could, feeling that aching pain in her bones again as they made it to town, only to have more Pinkertons flooding in.

“Goddamn it!” she yelled out, both out of anger and out of the pain she was feeling. She almost would welcome death at this time if she didn’t value wanting to smack Dutch before doing so. Her fingers gripped tightly onto the rifle as she shot down more Pinkertons before heading over to the building and running up the stairs to try and take care of any of the other fuckers. Micah was fighting one of them off as she shot a bullet into the guy. For a brief moment she had thought about not helping, but that good natured part of her was just not gonna let that be... He fell dead onto the ground as Micah smirked at her.

“And here I thought ya hated me--“

Her eyes glared at his, “I do. So don’t push it—“

Arthur and Dutch finally came up the stairs as they all ran into the mining building and ran up some more stairs.

“Cornwall’s men are all over the place.”

Rose groaned, “Yeah, cause if it ain’t the Pinkertons, it’s those bastards—“

Micah looked behind at Rose and Arthur, “Follow me and stay close.”

Arthur groaned as he took some cover, Rose went and hid down behind a crate, “We had enough heat on us before, now we’re going to be torched, Dutch!”

“This is the only way. You’ll see. Trust me—“

“Trust you!?” Arthur yelled out.

“You sure you got the lungs for this, Morgan?”

“I’m ‘bout to shoot a few bullets in ya if ya don’t quit that shit, Micah--” Rose yelled and came out to shoot down a few men, “Startin’ to think ya want me to...” she hurried and ran down the length of the building, with Dutch and everyone else following behind. There seemed to be an endless amount of stairs as they continued upwards until reaching the outside, where more men were stationed.

Arthur ran out and hit behind some of the carts, Rose came out keeping low, “I’m runnin’ out of ammo here, Dutch! I can’t keep doin’ this shit!”

Bullets exchanged as they continued to battle their way out of Annesburg. Rose wasn’t even sure if they were still fighting the Pinkertons or Cornwall’s men anymore. The rising toll of bodies didn’t seem to matter to anyone anymore...especially Dutch.

“Come on—“ he ran past Rose, “we can take the horses from that coach.” Arthur pulled her from cover as they ran over. Rose grabbed onto one of the horses and cut him free, as she mounted the horse and grabbed tightly onto the reins.

“Well at least we tried talking it out—“

“You boys have lost your minds.” Arthur mounted the horse.

“Oh...I felt a lot of guilt in this life, Arthur. I’ve killed too often and poorly. But not this time, son.”

They all began to gallop along the a road leading up and out of Annesburg, at least that’s what Rose was hoping for, “Alright, let’s head for the hills!”

There were more men as they went up the road, Rose didn’t bother to shoot anymore and tried to hurry to horse along as fast as she could with Arthur not too far behind her. Dutch and Micah were up at the front, evading who they could. They galloped for a long while before finally being able to stop, “Looks like we’ve lost them.” Micah turned and looked over at Rose and Arthur.

“For now, maybe...” Arthur shook his head.

Dutch climbed down from his horse and looked at the lot of them, “We all okay?”

Arthur hopped down, “interesting social call.”

“Don’t play dumb and superior at the same time, Morgan. We all know sooner or later Cornwall had to go.”

Rose flew down, her feet hitting hard against the ground as she walked over to Dutch, “Are ya kiddin’ me? What the hell was that, Dutch?”

Dutch looked at her, almost admiring her anger and annoyance, however he side stepped her and went over to Micah, “Lets me see them papers.”

Rose stood here, “the fuck—“ she whispered to herself and looked over at the three of them.

“It’s more attention we don’t need.” Arthur coughed for a moment, “feels like the whole world’s closing in on us. Dutch...” Arthur walked over to him, “it won’t be long before they find where we’re hiding out now, especially as we ain’t exactly hiding out.”

Dutch turned and looked at him, “We just need a distraction. Buy us some time.” He turned his attention back down to the papers. Arthur turned and looked at Micah for a moment before looking at Rose. She looked just as tired and as afraid as he was feeling, “It looks like Mr.Cornwall’s company has signed a railroad contact with the army and they’re also moving dynamite down from, well, the Annesburg mines to Saint Denis to resell. And there’s bonds at his oil factory.” Dutch turned and looked at Arthur, “Maybe there’s a way to get the off our back and get the money that we need—“ Dutch walked over to Micah, “Micah, you look into this dynamite. Take Bill, I guess. Arthur, you go too. We are gonna need a lot of it. And Micah, we need to talk, figure out some things...”

“Course, boss.”

Rose rolled her eyes, she couldn’t possibly be the only one seeing this bullshit right before her eyes.

“Figure out what?” Arthur asked as Rose walked over to him, looking at Micah and Dutch.

It took a few moments to answer him, but the lingering silence didn’t help the fear she was feeling, “The plan...Getting outta here...Nothing’s changed.”

“It hasn’t, huh?” Maybe Arthur wasn’t blind to it, but Rose didn’t want to stir the pot when so much was going on.

“There’s an old house west of Van Horn. Meet me there when you can, Black Lung.”

“Let’s split up—we’ll meet up back at camp.” Dutch looked over at Rose for a moment before him and Micah galloped away leaving Rose and Arthur alone.

As soon as they were gone, Arthur turned and looked at her, “This is crazy.”

“Y—yeah—“ she breathed out letting the pain in her bones cloud her senses. She collapsed as Arthur quickly grabbed onto her.

“It’s that pain again, ain’t it?”

Her breathing was ragged as her fingers gripped tightly onto his jacket, trying to keep herself up, “it is. Don’t—don’t ya worry ‘bout me, Arthur. I’ll be okay...” he held her close as they walked over to the horse she had taken, “Dutch and Micah are—spendin’ lot of time together...”

“Don’t remind me...” he climbed up onto the horse and pulled Rose up as she wrapped her hands around his waist, “let’s get back to camp.”

Rose nodded her head as they galloped off and down the road. She rested her head against his back as and closed her eyes, listening to his breathing and felt a pang of fear as she did. Arthur started talking and turned his head a little, “Sadie told me, they caught Colm O’Driscoll...”

“Bout time...” she whispered.

“There’s gonna be a hanging in Saint Denis.”

She stared out at the passing scenery, “Good. I ain’t missin’ that for the world.” And she wouldn’t. It had been 2 years almost 3 now, since Colm killed her sister and finally, after all this time...she was gonna watch the bastard hang. It almost seemed like she didn’t care anymore at this point. “Make sure ya take m’with ya when ya go...”

Arthur chuckled and then coughed for a few moments, “Highly doubt you’d let me forget.”

A small smile played along her lips as her arms tightened around his waist, “I love ya, Arthur.”

“I love you too, Rose.”

The ride back to camp felt like it took a long time, Rose mostly sat there trying to think, trying to not worry about anything. But it got worse with every moment that they neared the camp. When they got back Arthur helped her down from the horse and stood there for a few minutes looking at him, “Don’t you start treatin’ me differently—“ he could see the sadness that was lingering in her eyes, “I ain’t gone.”

Rose shook her head, “I know that, ya fool. I’m allowed to be worried ‘bout ya...”

He pulled her close and pressed his lips against her forehead, “I don’t know what’s gonna happen, Rose and I need ya to be strong. Not for me, but yourself. I need that pain in the ass woman that fought so damn hard throughout her life. She in there?”

“Always. I just don’t know for how much longer...” She pressed her lips against his softly against his before pulling away and walking into the camp as she walked along, the pain from before stopped her as she hunched over, trying to breathe through the pain. The Reverend walked over to her, lightly touching her shoulder.

“You okay, Ms. Reeds?”

She laughed for a moment, “I have no idea, Reverend—“

“Here—“ he helped her over to one of the chairs and sat down.

“Thanks...” she looked up at him.

“These are challenging times, for all of us.”

Rose smiled for a moment, “is that what ya call it? I call it bullshit...”

“You don’t seem yourself, somehow...I’ve always felt—“ She watched him as he tried to talk, “I’ve left the morphine, miss.”

“That’s—great, Reverend. Ya should mighty proud of yourself.” She smiled and he smiled back, though it quickly faded. Rose stood up from the chair after finding it okay to move, “Thank ya, you’re a very kind man, Reverend. Don’t let no one tell ya otherwise.”

“Thank you, Ms. Reeds.”

She walked away from the area and looked over, as Arthur went to speak with Dutch before Charles walked over, interrupting their conversation.

“Pardon me for interrupting.” He walked over to Dutch and Arthur, “I’ve brought a friend, Arthur.”

Arthur walked over and shook his hand and then turned to look at Dutch, “Dutch, this is Eagle Flies, his father is a great chief. Charles and I we erm...”

Eagle Flies cut in, “Pretended to be mercenaries, did me a great favour.”

Rose walked over to the lot of them as Charles turned his attention to her, “Rose—I’d like to meet a friend of mine.” The man extended out his hand to her, “This is Eagle Flies.”  

She grabbed onto his hand and shook it, “It’s a pleasure to meet ya. I had heard what has been goin’ on with your people and...” she sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“We’ve suffered too much, been lied to too much...” he turned his attention over to Arthur and Dutch, “and now, they’ve taken our horses.”

“Who?” Dutch asked.

Charles looked over at them, “The infantry division posted at Fort Wallace.”

“Colonel Favours is a liar and a murderer, his people won’t stop until we’re all dead. Without horses, we cannot hunt, without hunting...we will starve. This is another act of war.”

Dutch nodded his head, “I see that.”

Rose looked between them as she walked over to Charles and grabbed onto his arm for a moment to pull him away, “What is it, Rose?”

“Why did ya bring him here? With the way he’s spouting things out to Dutch...do ya think--” she sighed, deciding against saying something, “Ya know what. Never mind...”

Charles looked over at Eagle Flies and then back at her and on some level, he did understand, “I do have a favour to ask of you.”

She looked over at Dutch and Eagle Flies talking, “What is it?” her eyes went back to Charles.

“Could you head up to Wapiti Reservation? It’s just up past Donner Falls. I can’t go and help out Rains Falls and his people. I don’t trust anyone else to go, other than you and Arthur.”

She looked around at the camp, wasn’t like she was going to be doing anything around there for a long while, “Ya, I do that for ya. I won’t be intruding... will I?”

“No, I’ve spoken to him about you and Arthur. And even if I didn’t, they need all the help they can get right now.” His gaze went over to Eagle Flies as he spoke, “his heart is in the right place, but he isn’t like Rains Fall and I worry about that.”

“Why’s that?”

Charles looked down at her, “His father said that fighting was an impossible gamble. There is no winning for him in this and I believe that. This is...it’s only going to result in a war. Needless and unnecessary.”

“Yeah...ya can only—do so much, Charles...” Rose watched the way Dutch was talking with Eagle Flies, how he was acting, friendly...charming...it was too much for her. “I’ll go there now...” she went to walk away but stopped, “Make sure ya, keep an eye out on Dutch. He’s—well he’s...“

Charles nodded his head, “You know I will. Safe travels, my friend.”

“Keep Arthur safe for me, Charles.” He nodded his head in agreement as she pulled away and walked over to where Lily was hitched, mounting her horse. Charles walked back over to Dutch, Arthur and Eagle Flies as they continued their conversation.

_“We just need a distraction. Buy us some time.”_

Her fingers gripped tightly onto the reins as she trotted out of camp and headed North-West out towards the Reservation. Dutch’s words echoed in her head, was Eagle Flies the distraction he was talking about? Rains Fall’s people were already in turmoil and if Dutch were to drag that poor boy down... She shook the thought from her head, not wanting to listen to it. All she could do right now was focus on getting to the Reservation and helping out the best she could. It was better than waiting around camp for something else to happen.  The weather was relatively well as she galloped through the fields, about half way there the rain kicked in, pouring down hard and fast as a loud crackling sound of thunder echoed throughout the skies. She groaned out, looking around and wondering if there was a place for her to take refuge for a little while. There seemed to be an abandoned cabin a little ways down the road, as she urged Lily forward till they reached the house. She climbed down and grabbed onto Lily’s reins pulling her under the small opening of the house, “It’s okay, girl.” Her hand rested against her forehead, petting her softly.

Rose stood there, her eyes looking out to the scenery and taking a moment to appreciate it. There hadn’t been any time over the last little while to sit and not worry. But in the back of her mind, she still was...She closed her eyes and leaned against her horse, “I don’t know what to do anymore, Lily...what am I suppos’d to do?” the sound of the rain hitting against the ground echoed in her ears as she opened her eyes, “Oh, Dutch...” she whispered to herself, hugging Lily’s face to her own.

_That night before the train heist, they all sat around and had a few drinks. Rose looked over as Arthur went and handed another drink over to her, “C’mon now—“_

_“What? How we suppos’d to rob a damn train if y’all are gonna be hung over—“ she pushed the drink away, “I’ll be just fine, Mr.Morgan.”_

_Arthur moved from his spot and sat down beside her, “Don’t ya know, you ain’t suppos’d to trust a man that don’t drink—“_

_Rose laughed and shook her head, “Exactly, a MAN. I ain’t no man. And I also DRINK, just not to your likin’—“ Arthur playfully shoved Rose off the log as she fell backwards onto her back and stared up at the night sky._

_“Don’t injure her, Arthur. We need her in one piece for tomorrow.” Dutch took a swig back of his drink as she stayed there staring up at the night sky, “Unless you’ve already killed her.”_

_“I ain’t dead, ya fools.” She shook her head and smiled._

_Dutch came over and extended his hand out, she grabbed onto his hand as Hosea stood up and stretched, “Well gentlemen and lady, need m’shut eye, don’t overdo it tonight boys.” He waved his hand at the lot of them before walking over to his tent. Arthur grabbed another drink and walked away from the camp fire, leaving Rose alone with Dutch. Rose sat back on the log and looked over at Dutch as he came down and sat beside her._

_“Are you worried about tomorrow?”_

_She turned her head and looked at Dutch, “I ain’t never done this before. Little scared, if I’m to be honest.” She laughed for a few seconds before it died off, leaving the two of them in silence. Dutch placed down his drink and stood up from the log._

_“C’mere—“ he extended out his hand._

_“C’mere? And do what?” she gave him a funny look as she sat there._

_“Would you trust me? It’ll be fun.”_

_She hummed for a moment before finally giving in and grabbed onto his hand as he pulled her up, “What are ya doing, Mr. Van Der Linde?”_

_His one hand slid along her waist and pulled her close, while the other grabbed onto her left hand, “We are going to dance our troubles away, Ms. Reeds.”_

_Rose smiled as she looked up at him, “I don’t think it works like that, Dutch. Or else I woulda done that a long time ago.”_

_He smirked at the comment and began to dance with her, “Oh, but it does work—“ he dipped her down and brought her back up quickly, which caused her to laugh. She couldn’t remember a time that she had felt such happiness. Dutch stopped for a moment, feeling a little dizzy from all the booze he had._

_“See that’s what ya get from drinkin’ so much.” She winked playfully at him, as he shook his head._

_“Don’t you lecture me, Ms. Reeds.” His eyes stared down at her eyes and slowly went down to her lips, “You don’t drink enough.”_

_“Why ya keep lookin’ at m’like that?”_

_His eyes went back up to hers, “Like what?”_

_She swallowed down the lump in her throat, “Like you’re gonna devour me and ain’t nothing gonna be left...”_

_It took a few minutes of them standing there before Dutch bent down slowly and pressed his lips deeply against hers. The taste of whiskey and cigars invaded her senses, and a quite moan escaped from her. It seemed at that sound, Dutch pulled away and looked at her, “I’m sorry, Rose... I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”_

_“It’s okay, Dutch...” her fingers reached out as she ran them lightly against his lips, “It’s—okay—“ she breathed out._

 

The sound of some gunshots brought Rose back to reality as she looked over in the distance. The rain was still pouring down as she mounted her horse and headed off in the distance of the noise. When she neared the area, there was a man hiding behind a tree, while a few O’Driscolls stood there, shooting and screaming at the man. She couldn’t see who is was, but she hopped down from her horse and went in for some cover.

“Bet ya got somethin’ real good hiding in that satchel of yours—so why not give it up?”

“Not really interested gentlemen, now—“ the sound of a bullet hit against the tree, causing the man to hide further down. He had a gun, but with three of them and one of him...

Rose peeked her head out and shook her head, “fuckin’ bastards—“ she pulled out her pistol and shot down two of the men, one in the head and the other in the chest a few times. Before the last one booked it from the area. She waited for a few moments of silence before walking over to the man, as he came out from hiding, “I hope you’re alright.”

A man in military clothing came out from hiding and walked over to her, “Yes, I thank you for that. For a moment I thought I wasn’t gonna make it out, Ms--?”

Rose stuck out her hand, “Rose Reeds. Ya can just call me Rose.”

“Lyndon Monroe, but you can call me Captain Monroe.” He pulled away and walked over to his horse, “What brings you up here so close to the Wapiti Reservation?”

Rose laughed and sighed in relief, “I wasn’t sure I was headin’ in the right direction. Glad to know I was.” She went over to her horse and grabbed onto the reins, leading Lily over to Monroe, “A friend of mine, Charles Smith, asked if I could help out at the Reservation, since he couldn’t.”

Monroe smiled, he had the face of a man that’s seen many things in his life and he looked sad, “Its real bad there, Ms.Reeds. It’s not pleasant. We could use all the help we can get.” Rose mounted her horse and followed Captain Monroe along the roads, heading towards the mountains.

“Are ya apart of the military?”

“I am indeed, Ms.Reeds. I work for Colonel Favours.” He paused for a moment as they trotted along the valley, “though I must say, I don’t find that he’s treating the Wapiti very well...”

“Ain’t there anything ya can do?”

Monroe looked over at her, “I’m trying. There’s only so much I can do, without jeopardizing Rains Fall’s people. They’re dealing with enough already.”

The rain slowly began to die off as they neared the Reservation, “I can understand that.”

Monroe sighed, “Ms Reeds, would you have the time to help me at all? I would rather certain actions were taken by friends outside the tribe.”

Rose smiled, “I certainly can.”

“That’s good news. Thank you.” He smiled back, “We’re almost there. Have you met Rains Fall?”

“No, but I have met Eagle Flies...very assertive...don’t know if that’s a good thing or not at this point.”

They trotted up the hill and into the Reservation, there were mostly tepees set up around the camp, with a few cabins littered around the area. Rose hitched her horse and waited for Captain Monroe to get down from his. She wasn’t sure how Rains Fall would feel about her being there, and even with Charles reassurance, she still didn’t feel all that comfortable and it was a whole new world being there.

“C’mon—“ Monroe motioned her to follow, “Rains Fall is over this way.” Rose walked slowly behind Monroe as they walked over to the tepee and stood outside for a moment, “Excuse me?”

“Come in.” She heard a low gravelly voice speak to them as Monroe ducked his head and walked in with Rose following behind.

“Hello, sir.”

“Captain Monroe.” He nodded his head and looked over at Rose, “and who is this?”

There was a moment of silence before she started to speak, “M’name is Rose Reeds, sir. Charles asked if I could come and help.” She felt silly, unsure whether or not she should extend her hand out.

“Charles is a good man. Feel like he is the only one that can reach my son, since I cannot...”

“Eagle Flies?”  she asked.

Rains Fall looked over at her, “So you have met him?”

“Charles came with him to the camp. He seems very headstrong.”

He nodded his head, “My son would rather we fight. I do not want that for my people. War...greed...I have seen many a man die for no purpose.”

Captain Monroe chimed in, “I don’t mean to interrupt sir, but I was just in Saint Denis. I spoke with the Mayor... It’s not good news I’m afraid. 

Rains Fall turned his attention over to Monroe as he sat down on the ground, “What is this news, Captain Monroe?”

Rose sat down on the ground as Monroe spoke, “As I mentioned, I did speak again with the mayor and the Bureau of Indian affairs in Saint Denis at length, but regrettably it appears the oil company has already received approval to move forward with drilling on the reservation’s land.”

Rains Fall nodded his head, “I supposed as much. So what does that mean for us now?”

“I’m not sure just yet. I didn’t get the impression anything would be happening for a few months. I’m very sorry, sir. I did everything I could.”

“I know, Captain.”

“I assure you I will continue to do as much as I can.”

“Again, thank you Captain. For all you have done for us.”

Monroe nodded his head before heading out, “Ms.Reeds, when you have a moment, come and find me. Would rather we get this job done sooner rather than later.”

“Course.” She nodded her head as he walked out of the tent, her eyes looking down at the flames.

“You seem bothered by something.”

Her eyes went over to Rains Fall, “So many things are happenin’ and I’m scared, worried. I feel like there’s an end and it’s comin’ real quick.”

“I worry, for my people. For my son, especially my son. But I’m a great disappointment to him.”

Rose sat forward, “When he came to the camp today... tellin’ Dutch all those things. I worry for your son, sir.”

“My son thinks there is glory in death. Maybe he’s right, but for me... I saw death being handed out so freely by the most foolish of men. I never could equate it with victory.”

Rose stood up and looked down at Rains Fall, “There ain’t no shame in that. But...I have killed all m’life. There ain’t nothing good at the end of it. And I hope your son sees that...” she turned her head to look out the entrance, “I thank ya for your time, sir. I’ll do m’best to help out ‘round here.”

“Thank you, Ms.Reeds.”

She smiled sadly, ducking down and out of the tepee and stood there for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. Her eyes wandered around the camp, a lot of people were sick and it seemed that men like Colonel Favours...relished in such power.

Almost like Dutch...

Rose walked over to Captain Monroe and looked down at him, helping one of the tribe’s people. He turned his head and looked up at her, “Ms.Reeds.”

There was something burning inside of her, a desire of sorts to help these people and she knew if Agatha was still with her, that she would do this, “What is it ya want me to do, Captain.”

He stood up from the ground and looked at her, “Colonel Favours seems to think the natives have broken some promise they never made and apparently he’s punishing them by withholding vaccines sent down by the Federal Government. I was supposed to oversee the administration of vaccines. Now I hear the wagon’s been diverted.”

Rose shook her head, “What this man’s problem?”

Monroe shrugged his shoulders and began to serve some food out to the natives, “to be honest, I truly don’t know. They say he didn’t have a very good war, so...maybe he’s trying to start another one.”

“Do ya know if that’s true?” She walked over to him.

“I’m trying to find out and he knows I’m trying to find out. He’d love to provoke me almost as much as he’d love to provoke these poor bastards.”

Rose laughed for a moment, “And what is that supposed to mean?”

He sighed and looked over at her, “Meaning that despite the fact that I think he’s a horse’s ass...he knows I think that. So we’re just stuck here trying to make the best of things.”

“And children and these poor people dyin’ of diseases is the best of things?”

“No...this is awful...” he turned his attention over to someone and knelt down to help them out.

“Where is this wagon? Do ya know where I can find it?”

“I can show you, supposed to be heading to Wapiti after coming up through Valentine, but it’s been diverted south instead.”

Rose started to head back over to her horse, “C’mon Captain Monroe—“

He started to chase after Rose, “M-Ms. Reeds...” she turned to face him, “we must act with due caution.”

“Don’t ya worry, Captain. I can handle it.” They walked over to their horses and mounted them, “lead the way.”

“I think I know a spot where we should be able to intercept it.”

Heading out of the camp, they began trotting along the road and down the hill before galloping along as Rose tried to keep up with Monroe. She looked over at him, “Been meaning to ask, does Colonel Favours know you’re up here helping these people?”

“Yes...and no. He knows I’m here to produce a report on the situation. I was sent down from the North after all the news of unrest in the region. But I think my presence might be making things worse.”

“How so?”

“I worry he’s taking some of these actions more to protect himself now. If he can incite more retaliation, maybe he can prove a stronger defence.”

Rose shook her head, “I had heard he took some of their horses...that’s why Eagle Flies came by the camp...thinkin’ they was gonna try and get ‘em back.” She sighed, “Now I’m worried that’s just gonna piss off your Colonel.”

“It just might. But it’s not fair and it’s wrong what he’s doing to these people.”

Rose nodded her head, looking around as they made their way along the road, “Well, ya just show m’where this wagon is and I’ll get your medicine...No need for ya to be involved.” 

“Thank you, Ms.Reeds. But I must ask you to please be discrete. We really cannot afford more conflict. I’m still hoping a meeting can be arranged between Rains Fall and Colonel Favours.”

“I get it. Am I taking this wagon back to the reservation?”

“Oh no. No, no, no, you only need to commandeer the vaccine. Stealing those and an army wagon will only make matter much worse.”

“That’s fine, Captain Monroe.”

“You know, Favours has many flaws, but I don’t believe he’s callous. More an insecure man at the end of his career trying to cling onto something that’s already gone.”

Rose chuckled, “Ya know, that almost sounds like someone I know...” It kind of sounded like Dutch. Clinging onto this ideal world of the outlaws, when the world was changing and people like them, weren’t allowed to be no more.

“He fought for the Union in the war and his record was considered far from illustrious. A failed man is often the most dangerous...”

It went silent between the two of them and it felt like they had been riding for a long while, the sky slowly turned to dusk as they neared the area and headed up to a ridge, overlooking the road.

“Okay, let’s dismount here, best leave the horses back a bit.” Monroe jumped down from his horse, with Rose following shortly behind, “we’ll have a good view over the road from this ledge.” She walked with him and knelt down on the ground, looking at the road as he began to point, “the wagon should come along this way.”

“Alright.” She pulled out her binoculars, taking a look at the road, wondering how she should tackle this.

“You seem like a good woman, Ms.Reeds but...I fear this task to be a fool’s errand.”

She smiled and turned to look at him, “I ain’t that good and second of all...determination is my specialty. Sometimes.”

“Good to hear. In that case... I can see we shall be great friends.”

Her eyes stared out along the road as her heart pounded hard in her chest. She could do this; it wasn’t that hard, to her knowledge. Paranoia was beginning to eat at he and soon shook away the thoughts wanting to ask Monroe a question, “Just wonderin’...ya ever thought of going to Washington and tellin’ ‘em what kind of an idiot Colonel Favours is and save everyone the bother?”

Monroe chuckled at the thought, “Unfortunately the government doesn’t work quite like that.”

“Well damn...If only—“

Monroe pointed, “There. I think that’s the wagon.”

Rose looked through the binoculars, seeing the wagon heading down the road, “Get yourself outta here, Captain.”

He slowly began to move back over to his horse, “Remember to keep it clean. Do you understand me?”

“Ya worry too much, Captain Monroe. Now get outta here—“

“Right. Try to not get yourself killed, Ms.Reeds.”

She smirked at the comment, “No promises there.” She grabbed onto her bandana and pulled it up to cover her face.

Monroe hurried and mounted his horse before heading out of the area as quick as he could. Rose ran over to her horse and mounted her fast as she grabbed tightly onto the reins and headed back down the hill and onto the road, trailing the wagon. She looked seeing two men sat at the front, wondering if maybe she could jump onto the front and then shove the one man off and then the other. Lily’s hooves hit hard and fast against the ground as she hurried up behind the wagon, “C’mon girl—“ A few things clouded her mind as she tried to catch up to the wagon. Things that could be meant for a better time and place, but in the moment, those things were there.

 

_“I want you to go and live your life. Do something better with it—“_

 

_“m’dear, I always want to help—“ Dutch ran the pad of his thumb light along his lips before he reached out and ran the pad of his thumb along her lips before saying, “Always...”_

 

Rose moved Lily over to the side of the wagon, catching up to the front. One of the men finally caught onto the noise and turned his head, looking at her as she lunged herself from her horse and onto the wagon.

“What the—“ the one man said as she grabbed onto the scruff of his neck and threw him off the side of the wagon. The driver held tightly with one hand on the reins as he tried to reach for the pistol on his side. Quickly she pulled out her gun, aiming it at the man.

“I don’t wanna kill ya.” Her breathing was shaky as she looked at the man, “but I will—if I have too.”

“Then I guess you’re gonna—“ she quickly shoved the man off and looked behind as he rolled a few feet and stopped. She grabbed onto the reins and sat down, taking the wagon down the road a bit and off to a secluded area. She stopped the wagon behind some trees as she hopped into the back and opened the locked box.

“There ya are—“ she grabbed onto the vaccines and placed them into her satchel, as she did, the sound of a gun cocking. Steadily she grabbed onto her pistol and pulled it out and aimed it, seeing one of the men that she threw off the wagon. It was the driver.

“You think you’re just gonna walk away from here with those vaccines, Miss? Cause you’ve got another thing coming—”

She stood there calm, but she knew she couldn’t kill this man. There was to be no bloodshed. “I already told ya. I don’t wanna kill ya. Why don’t ya walk away and be grateful ya get to go home. I’m sure your wife would appreciate it.”

His eyes went down to the ring on his finger, “Think you’re gonna convince me otherwise? What makes you think I’d be the dead one?”

“Cause I ain’t dyin’ today for the likes of ya. Now—walk away.” Her heart was pounding in her ears as she stood there watching him, “There are sick children. People that need this medicine. It’s gettin’ to them one way or another.” A sadness was beginning to tear at her, all she wanted was for him to turn around and leave her be. That’s all he needed to do. She had done enough killing and it wasn’t like it would ever stop. There would be more bodies, but today she didn’t want that.

“That’s such a shame for you then—“ he slowly began to pull the trigger, but she was quicker as the sound of her gun went off and a bullet went flying into his chest. She stood there for a moment before he fell onto the ground, lifeless and still. Slowly she walked over to him and kicked away the gun before picking up the body and moving it out of sight.

She whistled for Lily to come, whether or not she was close enough to hear her and after she found her horse, she headed back to the Reservation with the vaccines. A few tears slid down her face as she made her way back, she didn’t want to kill him. He could have walked away and that would have been it. She shook the thoughts from her head and hurried as fast as she could back to the camp with the vaccines, hoping that no one would catch wind of this... but now a part of her worried, wondering if Rains Fall would be blamed for this. The thought left her as she neared the camp and took Lily over to the hitching post. Rose climbed down carefully and went off in search of Captain Monroe, he was easy to find though as he was helping everyone around the camp.

“Captain Monroe—“ she said as he turned and looked up at her, “I’ve got the medicine.” And went into her satchel, pulling it out and handing it over to him.

He stood up quickly and took it from her, “Oh, wonderful. That’s great news, Ms.Reeds.”

“And don’t worry. It went as well as it could have...”

“Well, I’ll have to take your word for that. We could both swing for this.”

Rose laughed and cringed at the dull ache she was feeling, “I don’t really care at this point, Captain.”

He walked over to one of the tents and placed the lot of the vaccines down, “I just hope Colonel Favours thinks he was robbed by bandits and not—“

“The thought had crossed m’mind as well...also I could be considered a bandit.” She smiled. 

Monroe nodded his head at her, “I better get to work.” He extended his hand out as she grabbed onto it, shaking it, “Thank you, Ms.Reeds. Bandit or not, this was a good thing. Maybe it’ll get us both killed, but it had to be done.”

“Well, I really hope it helps...” she looked around for a moment, “I’m gonna go and see if anyone needs help. If ya need any assistance don’t hesitate to holler.”

“Thank you.” He smiled and began to attend to the vaccines and administering them. Rose went around the reserve and offered her help to those that could use it. Offering up food and helping a few of them eat. Her duties ran way into the night before being able to finally catch some shut eye, even if for only a few hours or so. But even laying there and staring up at the night sky, her thoughts went back to Dutch and Eagle Flies... this young boy who thinks not highly of his own father, following a man who knows nothing of caring...

Well maybe not nothing...A long time ago he did, but now...now it just felt like hell and there seemed to be nothing Rose could do to stop that. Her eyes felt heavy as she stared up at the night sky, thinking about everything. For a moment her eyes closed and everything felt fine and that feeling of uneasiness went away.

 

_“Rose—“_

_She stirred for a moment and ignored whoever was calling her._

_“Rose—“_

_She curled up more under the blankets and groaned. It wasn’t until the feeling of cold air hit against her body that she shot up in bed. Her eyes still tired and groggy, she looked up to see Arthur standing there. Her cheeks darkened a red color realizing she was only wearing a dress shirt... “Mr. Morgan, if this is how ya greet Mary in the mornin’, I pity her—“_

_Arthur rolled his eyes, “What’s with the attitude today?”_

_Rose stood up from the bed, “Well what did ya expect, ya woke m’up!” she shook her head and grabbed onto her pants from the chair she had thrown them on. The heating gaze from Arthur caused her to turn around, “Ya gonna stand there and watch me? Or can I dress in peace?”_

_Arthur’s cheeks dusted a red color as he turned his head, “Course... meet me outside. Dutch would like ya to get some more practice in with some shooting—“_

_Rose groaned and walked over to him, grabbing the blanket from him and throwing it to the ground as if he was the one that had done something wrong, “He  knows damn well I’m fine with a gun—does he think I’m gonna put a bullet in him or something?”_

_Arthur stood there and looked down at her. “It doesn’t—hurt to practice...”his eyes wandered down to the skin exposed from the opening of the shirt._

_She stood there and watched his cheeks and how red they were. At that moment, she didn’t care that he had someone, she didn’t like her anyways. Rose reached out slowly and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, feeling the heat of his body through his clothes._

_“R-rose?” he whispered._

_She pulled away slightly and looked at him, “Arthur...I--” her voice was barely a whisper as she went to kiss him, feeling a burning desire for a moment and as her lips lightly brushed along his lips eliciting a small moan from him and her, the flap of her tent opened._

_“Rose—“ it was Hosea, but even still, she moved away from Arthur quickly. Her cheeks burned as she stood there trying to hide her face from Hosea, “Oh—I’m sorry-- m’dear--” he paused and looked over at Arthur and then her, “Arthur...come and help me with a few things—“_

_“Course...” Arthur hurried out of the tent and left Hosea with Rose._

_She walked over and sat down on her cot, before Hosea’s voice softly spoke to her, “M’dear...” she looked up at him, “temptation is a fool’s game.”_

_“That so?” she looked down at the ground for a moment, “I can’t help it.”_

_“Come out when you’re done.” He smiled and walked out of her tent, leaving her alone with her thoughts._

 

It was morning when Rose opened her eyes, realizing she had fallen asleep and for once felt refreshed. As she sat up, the sound of a horse was heard galloping into the reservation. She moved quickly out of the bed, wearing just her blouse and pants before slipping on her boots. Her gun holster, rifle and jacket laid on the ground as she left them and walked over to the oncoming noise. For a moment, she wondered why she hadn’t grabbed her gun, maybe it was an intruder. But the panic left her as she saw who came into view, “Arthur—“ she hurried over to him as he hopped down and hitched his horse.

Arthur turned and looked over at her as his eyes wandering along her body; she always hid under that damn jacket of hers, “Rose.” Her arms wrapped tightly around him as she pulled him close. His arms wrapped tightly around her frame, holding her. Even if he was dying...she still loved him no matter what and he took some comfort in that thought. She pulled away at arm’s length and looked at him, how red his eyes were, how sick he was truly starting to look and it was heartbreaking. Her hands cupped his face as she pulled him close and pressed her lips deeply against his, moaning softly as his hands moved to her waist. The moment was nice until Arthur pulled away abruptly and began to hack and cough before spitting some blood onto the ground. He chuckled for a moment, “Real sorry ‘bout that—“ he stopped seeing the saddened expression on her face.

“I’m gonna go and help out some more ‘round here. I’d like to go for a ride tonight, if ya don’t mind.”

Arthur nodded his head, “Course, I need to speak with Rains Fall. Where is he?”

“That tent over there.” She pointed over and began to walk away when Arthur grabbed onto her hand and pulled her back hard against his chest.

“I love you, Rose.”

Her eyes closed at his words as she smiled softly, “And I love ya—“ she breathed in the scent of him, her fingers gripping tightly onto the back of his jacket, “so goddamn much...” He smiled as he let her walk away from him, before tending to his own errands. The day drawled on as she went and helped everyone on the reserve, serving out food, helping a few of the tribe’s folk eat and even spent time with some of  the sick children, though some of them weren’t doing to good, some even hanging on the brink of death. Arthur had gone off with Rains Fall, anxious for his return and was wondering about Dutch as well.

When night rolled around, Arthur had finally made his return with Rains Fall. She walked over to him and looked up as he sat on his horse, “We—“ he took a moment to cough, “—going?”

Rose nodded her head and walked over to her horse and climbed up, “let’s go.” She held tightly onto the reins as the both of them headed out of the reservation and along the mountain side, Rose turned her head, “How did everything go with Eagle Flies?”

“Went as well as it coulda gone...Dutch seems very interested in him and his plight. Which worries me.”

“Ya ain’t the only one...” she sighed, “whatever Dutch plans on doin’...I know it ain’t gonna be good.”

“Charles asked that I come and speak with Rains Fall.”

She smiled for a moment, “Well damn, here I was thinkin’ ya was here cause of me.”

Arthur turned his head and looked over at her, “Don’t think I didn’t miss your damn attitude.”

They went along and found a somewhat secluded area and hitched their horses to a tree. Rose walked over and stared down from the cliff, overlooking the valley. Arthur lit up a smoke and handed it over to her. She grabbed onto it as he lit one for himself and stared out with her. The night sky filled with hundreds of stars as the moon shone down on them, she turned to look at him.

“Does it ever feel like things are only gonna get worse?”

“I don’t know anymore, Rose...” he inhaled some of his smoke, “But Dutch apparently needs John and I to blow up a bridge, hoping it might by us some time if the military can’t get through on the train.”

Rose looked over at him, “He can’t be serious...” she sighed, “I’m comin’ with ya. I hope ya know that.”

He threw down the smoke, not wanting to finish it, “Didn’t think otherwise.” He walked over to some ground and began to set up a campfire as Rose finished her smoke and walked over to him and bent down beside him, “I want to know something.” He asked.

“And what would that be? I ain’t exactly a wise person.”

He smirked at the comment, “Why yous spending time with a dying man?”

“I ain’t answering that, Arthur. Ya know damn well how I feel.” He turned his head and looked at her and how close she was to him, “How much I—“ she didn’t want to talk anymore, she just wanted him. Her lips pressed deeply against his, causing him to fall onto the ground as she crawled over him.

He pulled away for a moment to breathe, “Rose—“

“Don’t—I—I need ya...” she whispered as his hands moved down to her pants and unbuttoned them. Her hands went to his shirt and unbuttoned it, looking down at his chest, his skin looked paler than before, but his muscles were still defined however looking weak. It was a hard thing not to cry, and it was getting harder each time she would look at him. But that wouldn’t be romantic, Arthur was still strong, still able to fight—still able to—she took a moment, her lips still kissing his, as her fingers ran down his chest and to his pants, unbuckling his belt and then working at his pants, “I want ya, Arthur—“ he groaned as she pulled away for a moment and slipped off her pants, kicking them to the side.

“Get back here—“ his voice rasped out, watching her as she backed away slowly, unbuttoning her shirt and exposing her skin. His eyes looked dark and for a moment she forgot about his sickness as he stood up slowly, whipping off his belt.

“Or else what, Mr.Morgan?”

He inched closer to her, as a smirk came across her lips. It felt like old times for a moment, and it made her happy. “Or else I’m gonna devour ya—“ he grabbed onto her fast, she felt hot as he pulled her tight against his body, whispering against her ear, “inch, by inch...” her eyes closed at the contact, at how his breath tickled against her skin. She didn’t want to focus on the reality of what was happening with Arthur and she didn’t want this moment to end. A soft moan escaped her lips as her hands worked at his slipping off shirt before sliding her fingers along and through his chest hair. They moved back over to the fire and as he went to move her down onto the ground, she grabbed onto him and moved him quickly. His back his a little hard against the bed mat, causing him to cough for a few minutes. The pain of hearing it, made it hard for her to focus, but she pushed through the sadness she was feeling as she came down slowly and pulled his pants and undergarments down past his lips and thighs.

“Mr. Morgan...” she whispered and looked down at his throbbing cock, “Handsome as ever.” She winked at him as she crawled over and straddled his hips. His hands immediately went to her thighs and moaned at the searing heat coming off of her.

Normally, he liked to take it slow, savour her, but a need grew over him as he yanked her hips forward, feeling the wetness between her legs as he pulled her down onto him. She yelped in surprise, before letting the feeling of pleasure take over her. He looked up at her with loving eyes, feeling her how hot and tight she was around him, his cock twitching at the contact. “You always like this for me?” he smirked as she looked down at him, resting her hands on either side of his head, grinding down against his hips and eliciting a moan from him.

“Two can play at that game—Mr. Morgan—“ she breathed out, feeling his cock hit upwards into her aching core. His hands ran along and up her figure, grabbing onto her breasts and squeezing them roughly. A high pitched moan sounded from her, as he hit up inside of her each time. After some time her wrists gave out as she bent down and laid on him, their breathing ragged as they kept on.

His movements went faster, thrusting upwards, feeling the wet heat each time he slid back inside of her, the heat from his lips was enough to push her over the edge. She sat up, swivelling her hips as she held onto his hands for support and rode out her orgasm. His hands gripped tightly onto hers feeling her walls pulse around his cock, but he didn’t want this to end... not yet. When she came down from her high of pleasure, with the last bit of strength he had left, he wrapped his arm around her waist and changed positions, moving her onto the ground and on her back.

“A-arthur—“ she looked up at him, the dance of the flame and shadows against his face. He didn’t say anything though, as he began to thrust into hard and fast, his hands running along her skin and behind the back of her head. She felt sensitive and her body was on overload from it. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the crook of her neck as he fucked her. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do this again...so he needed _this_ to count. Her fingers weaved through his hair as she held him close, her legs wrapping firmly around his waist as she moaned out. A part of her wanted to break down there, the sadness she was fighting back was making its way full force and clenched her eyes shut, “I love ya—“ she whispered.

He moved his head as she heard the ragged breathing both from the pleasure and the sickness, as he whispered against her ear, “I love you.”

“Good—“ she breathed out and bit his ear lightly, “now come for me, Arthur—let m’feel ya—“ he groaned at the words, holding her close as he thrust into her fast for a few seconds until he stilled, moaning at the feel of release as his cock twitched and filled her.

He pushed up lightly and looked down at her as she wiped back his hair out of his face, “you’re gonna be the death of me.”

The comment, though he meant it as a joke, she didn’t appreciate it one bit, “That ain’t funny, Arthur Morgan.” She closed her eyes as he pulled out and laid down beside her. She turned over and looked at him as he tried to relax, “think you’re a funny man, huh?”

“Nope. Now c’mere--“ he grabbed onto her and pulled her close, as they both laid their staring up at the night sky, “Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not know when part 2 will be up but... I'm working on it. <3 <3 <3


	8. Beaver Hallow - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I am dying...there ain't no denying that." 
> 
> "Sometimes I wonder what to do, what to do about Rose..." 
> 
> "She wants to stay with me...can't understand why when she could do so much..." 
> 
> "And then there's Dutch and Rose...now that's something I...I don't understand."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG! So sorry this took so damn long. I've been writing on and off, life is getting a little bit difficult at the moment. Also I hate that this is nearing the end of this fanfic. Also I am super excited to go and actually meet Roger Clark in a few weeks so :3 So damn excited! There's a few parts in here that if you're wondering why Arthur isn't doing them, well, Rose is. :) 
> 
> Please enjoy and thank you all for the support <3

For most of the night, Rose couldn’t sleep as she laid there with Arthur and only the sound of his ragged breathing could be heard. The truth of the matter was, that there wasn’t a lot of time left with him, and the thought alone, was making it harder for her to sleep at night. She laid there quietly and looked at him, how peaceful he seemed. But how could he be sleeping knowing what would be coming? Her fingers reached out as she lightly moved a piece of hair away from his forehead, smiling for a moment before pulling away and getting dressed. She sat down on one of the rocks, her blouse opening a little as the cool morning air lightly breezed through the fabric, causing a small chill through her.

It was the coughing that made her turn her head towards Arthur, the smoke dangling in her mouth as she did, “Mornin’ handsome.” She needed to pretend nothing was wrong, that everything was the same...even though it could never be the way it was.

He sat up and hunched over for a moment, trying to catch his breath before he looked over at her, “Morning—“ he paused seeing the expression on her face, the sadness was clearly there, but then his eyes lingered downwards.

The sadness left her face for a minute as she whipped a rock at him, “Ya goddamn pervert.”

“I ain’t the one—“ he stood up as she walked over to him, “parading around in—“ he stopped and looked at her and saw the bruising along her skin. The campfire hid everything so well, but now, he could see everything and how worse it was.

“Cat got your tongue?” the smile left her face, watching the expression on his, “What?”

Arthur knew better, she never did explain to him what was going on with her. There needed to be nothing wrong between them and the love he felt for her was stronger than anything. Perhaps it was because that death was around the corner and time was slowly fading. He put on a smile and reached out, pulling her close, his skin felt warm as she rested her cheek against his chest. “We should get going. John’s meeting us at Bacchus Station. “

Rose pulled away from him to let him finish getting dress as she started to pack everything away, “So we’re—blowin’ up the damn bridge…why?”

He finished dressing and grabbed onto his hat, “According to Dutch…should slow down the military. Though…I don’t know.”

“Should we even be doin’ this?”

Arthur walked by her and over to his horse, “I don’t know. I don’t know anymore, Rose. Let’s just…get this done.”

If it was easy to walk away from the lot of them, she was sure he would have by now. It seemed like each moment was nearing closer to their deaths and there was nothing that she could do about it. She walked over to her horse and mounted her, as they trotted out of the area and started to head South East.

Arthur didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry as they travelled along, the day felt a bit cooler and the skies were grey and dark in the sky. Rose found herself looking up a few times wondering if it was going to rain or not, but then her eyes wandered over to Arthur. His eyes were forward looking at the road ahead of them, not realizing that she was looking at him.

“Do ya ever think...that it would be easier to die--” she stopped and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to hold back the sadness, “than to deal with this shit?”

He didn’t turn his head, but he answered her, “Course it’d be easier...” he finally looked over at her, “but then—who’d put up with your shit if I weren’t around?”

A small smile formed on her face, “Real nice, Arthur.”

“It ain’t worth talking ‘bout all that, Rose. I don’t know how much time I’ve got left...but—“ he coughed, hard into his hand and wiped some of the blood from his lips before spoke again, “I love ya—so—till then...shut it.” She shook her head, and chuckled to herself, even though she wanted to cry. It didn’t take them very long to get over to the station. John was sat there waiting for them, on a wagon filled with dynamite. Rose and Arthur hitched their horses and climbed down as they walked over to John.

“Arthur, Rose.”

She walked over to him, before laughing softly, “Well, don’t ya look so damn pleased ‘bout all this?”

“I’m nervous—“ he looked between Rose and Arthur, “I’ve been nervous for a while.” John slowly reached into his pocket to grab a smoke, handing one over to Arthur and Rose, “I had a lot of time to think in that jail and I feel like I just don’t know Dutch no more.”

“You ain’t the only one.” Arthur placed the smoke into his mouth.

“Yeah...you ain’t.”

“And this plan to get us out, it just feels—“ John sighed, “I don’t know...”

“Like he’s stringing us along, I know...” Rose went to light up her smoke and stopped, looking at the wagon as John and Arthur also did before they all threw away their smokes.

“Killing in cold blood, revenge, we all do bad things, but he seems to enjoy it now. It’s like he just wants to create more enemies. More chaos. I mean....I love Dutch. He saved me a long time ago.”

Rose went and grabbed onto one of the crates of dynamite, along with John, “Yeah...he saved me too.” The thought of it made her sad, it was a different time and that time had long since passed.

John continued up again, “I feel like in Saint Denis, when I got arrested...maybe he could have done something.”

They placed down the dynamite on the handcar, Rose looked over at John, “And he could have...”

Arthur walked over to the two of them, “I feel like you should take your woman and child and get lost.”

John looked at him, “Do you?”

“You can...you could give something to Jack. It’s that or...well, I don’t see no way outta this.”

“What about loyalty?” John asked.

“Fuck loyalty.” John looked over at Rose, her face filled with emotions, “Just---fuck it. It ain’t worth it no more, John. That family is and will always be.”

Arthur nodded his head in agreement, “Be loyal to what matters.”

John looked between Rose and Arthur, “What are you two gonna do?”

Rose didn’t want to answer that and Arthur waved his hand in the air, “W-we’ll be okay, but do it, for me. And it would make me—feel...good. If that makes any sense.”

“A little, but—“

“Listen to me—“

Rose butted in between the two of them and faced John, “Naw, you’re gonna listen to me, John—“

“Rose—“ Arthur went to speak.

“Pipe down, Arthur.” She looked at John, “now I know...we ain’t the best of friends and I’m sorry that hasn’t been the case. But all ya need to know is when that time comes and—it will...” her eyes were so tired looking.

“You gotta run, and don’t look back.” Arthur looked at John, “This is over.” She thought for a moment that she was going cry and the energy she used to have was slowly being sucked away, leaving her to wonder if death would greet her soon.

“And now?” he looked at them.

“Now, we gotta help Dutch give the army one final tweak on its nose.” He pointed out to the bridge as they all looked at it.

John sighed, “Yeah, come on—“ he grabbed onto the last crate, “Help me with the rest of this.” They walked over to the handcar and climbed up onto it. Rose looked at the two of them as she sat down on it.

“Well, it looks like we finally found our calling in life.”

“Let’s ride this thing out to the bridge. There’s a spot about a third of the way across where we can get down underneath to plant the charges. I’ve already set up the detonator.”

“Sure, let’s get this over with...” Arthur paused for a moment, “You hear about Dutch and Cornwall?”

Rose stared out at the slowly passing scenery, though at the rate the boys were moving the damn thing she could have walked the down track and back, “What happened between Dutch and Cornwall was…I don’t even know. I know Cornwall wasn’t a good person by any means but...it...Dutch, he...” Her voice trailed off quietly.

“This is what I’m talking about. More enemies, more chaos…I mean, we’re about to blow up a bridge, for Christ’s sake.”

Rose nodded her head in agreement with John, “That be it. So here’s the thing...” she sighed, “don’t think about it and do it.” It wasn’t like they could all walk away from doing this; she was starting to wonder why she even bothered on coming and helping with this. On one level she was worried about Arthur, but she couldn’t say that, he wouldn’t like that. He was still strong and able, but this was something different. If there weren’t all going to be hanged for everything else then this one would certainly do the damn trick.

“Alright stop. Here’s good.” The handcar came slowly to a halt on the track as John hopped down, with Rose and Arthur following suite.

“We sure got a lot of this stuff.”

“We’ll need it.” John walked over to the ladder, “I’ll climb down there, you lower the crates.” John disappeared over the side as Arthur walked over to the crate and grabbed it, Rose came over and grabbed onto the other one.

“You okay?”

They walked over to the side, each holding onto a crate as they waited for John to say something, her eyes went over to his, “These—can’t explode without being lit, right?”

“Ready when you are!” John’s voice echoed through their conversation, “I’m at the bottom of the ladder here to your left.”

The both of them walked along till they reached the side. Rose looked down seeing John standing there.

“There’s good. Lower it down.” Arthur rested the first one on the ledge before tying a rope around it and began to lower it down, “Alright take it slow...that’s not something we wanna drop.”

She shook her head, her fingers gripping tightly onto the crate not wanting to drop it. Arthur never did answer her question but, she was starting to wonder if maybe they would all blow up and die. “So there ain’t no pressure then, John?”

He kept his eye on the crate as it made it’s way down to him, “That’s it...nearly there—“ he paused, “Okay good—now get the other one.”

Rose handed the crate over to Arthur, “I ain’t lowering that damn thing...if ya’ll don’t wanna blow up—“

Arthur shook his head and grabbed the crate from her, “It’s like you ain’t worked with dynamite before.”

“It’s cause I _ain’t_ worked with dynamite before...not this much anyways.”

He tied the rope around the crate and lowered that one down to John as well, “Alright, come down here and help me plant this stuff.”

Arthur went down, Rose wasn’t sure she was going too but climbed down with him. John looked between the two of them, “Okay, grab yourselves a bundle from the box—“ Rose went over and grabbed herself some, “The bridge is wired to the detonator. We need to attach each of those bundles to the fuses.” Rose, Arthur and John began to walk, “There’s one on each of the main support beams. I’ll take the middle, Rose take the ones down there.”

A nervous laugh erupted from her, “Right, send m’the furthest away from the damn escape route...”

“You’ll be fine—“ John smirked as she walked away from him, “I sure hope this is enough to blow it.”

Her feet were light as she walked down to the support beams and began to place the dynamite down gently before grabbing the wire and attaching them. She went over to the next two, repeating the same thing. The sound of the boys footsteps echoed in her ears, as she looked seeing the two of them, but not before looking down at the huge river below them. She had never had a problem with heights before but now...she just wanted to be back on land, “I’m done—“ she yelled out and made her way back to the boys. But only found Arthur, “Where’s John?”

“Shit---“ they both heard John say, “I think I hear something coming, you guys.”

There were no words exchanged as Rose and Arthur both ran along the wooden bridge and back over to the ladder, making haste to get up the damn thing as John yelled out, “Train! Get your asses up here quick!”

“We are TRYIN’!” Rose yelled out, her heart pounded hard in her chest, the sudden onset of pain causing her to slow down.

“Come on guys---Shit—a train! Come on, quick!”

She ran over and threw herself onto the handcar, letting the pain wrack her senses. Arthur climbed up and began to push up and down on the lever.

“Pump this stupid thing...hard as you can!”

The handcar began to move, but wasn’t moving all that fast and the sound of the train was nearing closer and closer to them. Rose pushed herself up and looked seeing the damn thing, “Fellas—“

“Just get to the end of the bridge and jump!” John yelled out, as he kept looking behind him. Rose readied herself as the jumping point came up, “Faster! Get ready to jump—“

“Jump now!” Arthur yelled out as him and John threw themselves one way, while Rose jumped and landed on the other side of the track. The train zoomed by and took out the handcar, Rose cried out for a moment from the contact of the ground. When the train finally disappeared, she stood up and saw both John and Arthur were on the other side safe.

She walked over to the two of them, “Well—I ain’t never doin’ that again.”

John laughed and then sighed, looking at Arthur and Rose, “thank you.”

“No problem—“ Arthur said, trying to catch his breath.

“That just ain’t how I wanna die.” John motioned his hand, “come on, let’s go blow this thing up.”

Rose took her time, trying not to let the pain she was feeling show through. She didn’t need Arthur to worry, and followed the both of them over to the detonator.

John looked down at the thing, “Um, I think the line held...” he looked over at Arthur, “you want the honors?”

“Sure—“ Arthur walked over, and bent down. They all stood there and watched as the bridge exploded and lit up with fire. The sound echoed loud into the skies as bits of wood went falling into the river below, “Well, I guess old Dutch got all the smoke he wants.”

“Well let’s hope so.”

Rose stood there watching the destruction of what they’ve done, “Let’s just hope it was worth all this shit.”

Arthur laughed and pointed, “You really think that that’ll draw attention away from us?”

John laughed as they began to walk back over to the wagon, “I guess we’ll see. Tell the truth...I ain’t even sure I fully understand Dutch’s plan with all this.”

Arthur looked over at Rose for a moment before answering John, “Like I said, John...when the time comes, you go.”

“But what about loyalty to...to everything?”

Rose wasn’t sure she had much to say on the matter, they had all been loyal...but Dutch...he was someone that she didn’t know anymore.

“You been loyal. I been loyal. She’s been loyal and look what that caused. You know, all that ever mattered to me was loyalty. It was all I knew. It was all I ever believed in...but not anymore, John.” Rose walked over and stood beside Arthur, trying to ignore the pain that ached through her bones. “soon...you gotta go. Go...don’t look back.”

John was silent for a few seconds before he walked over and climbed up onto the wagon, “I’ll think about it...”

“I’ve done a lot of thinking. Look at us, out here risking our necks and for what exactly?” John went to speak when Arthur started up again, “An idea that don’t work no more.”

“How you mean?”

He shook his head, “you know just what I mean. You got a family. You need cash, you need to start building a life for yourself. Me?” He looked over at Rose, seeing the tiredness that lingered within her, “Well, I need a vacation and Dutch has all the money. For safekeeping.”

John looked at them, “You know something...Abigail thinks she might know where some of that money is.”

“Well you tell her she better make sure and then come talk to me and we’ll find out just who and what we should be loyal to.”

“I—I don’t know, Arthur...”

“Nor do I—“ Arthur began to walk away from John to go and sit, “but I’m seeing things a lot more clearly now. I wish thing were different, but it weren’t us who changed.” John nodded his head and grabbed onto the reins as the wagon slowly disappeared from the station, leaving her and Arthur alone. He began to cough hard and sat down on some barrels, he looked down at the blood on his hand before he wiped it along his shirt. Rose stood there watching him, listening to the sound of his breathing and it was only getting worse. It sounded like he was out of breath and couldn’t catch it. A painful sob sounded from her, causing Arthur to look up at her heartbroken face.

“I—I know this—is gonna sound real stupid as I already know this---but---“ she took a deep breath in, “Ya really are dyin’—“

“Rose—“ Arthur stood up, as the tears streamed down her face.

“I—I won’t ever see ya again—this is it—this is all we’ve got left—“

Arthur walked over and grabbed onto her closely, her hands gripping tightly onto his back as she sobbed loudly into his chest. There was nothing else he could say, there was nothing that he could do to reassure her of anything because it was true, time was running out. She held tight onto him not wanting to let go.

Finally she heard him speak, “You’re right.” She pulled away, still holding him as he looked down at her, “this is all we’ve got...and I want to be with you, till the very last moment I have.”

Her breathing was shaky as she looked at him, “I hate—I hate that it took this long—there was so much time before this...we should have done something different. Now there ain’t time.”

“Rose—“ he cupped her face, “I’m still here. Are you?” she nodded her head, “Good. I love you, Rose. That ain’t gonna change, even after I’m gone. Now—where’s that pain in the ass woman I know?”

She looked at him, but didn’t say anything. She was in there, but as the days went on, she was slowly fading. One day she’d come back, but right now it seemed to get harder with each day that they were fighting for their lives. And Dutch...well, that was just breaking her heart to no end and there were reasons, lots of them.

  
They stood there for a long while, as he held her, letting her cry out the pain she was feeling before deciding to head back to camp. Or whatever was left of it, didn’t seem like a camp anymore. The camp grounds seemed a lot emptier than it did before she had left, and now it felt like no one was left. Arthur had gone off somewhere with John and Charles, leaving Rose to be with whoever was hanging around. She hitched her horse and climbed down as she made her way over to Dutch’s tent, though she wasn’t even sure if he was around, a part of her was hoping he wasn’t. When she opened the tent she was surprised to find it empty, but it wasn’t for long as the flap of the tent opened up behind her.

“Rose—“ he seemed put off that she was even standing there, “what are you doing here?”

She looked around at the tent for a moment before looking over at him, “I—I don’t even know, Dutch. I guess—“ No, she couldn’t even think of anything, “guess I just—wanted to see how you’re doing.”

He laughed softly and shook his head, “That’s not your style, Rose.”

“Ya caught me.” Her eyes watched his, “Guess I wanna know what it is ya plan on doin’ to that young feller. His people are fightin’ a war, Dutch—“ she walked over to him, standing a few inches away, “A war that ain’t ours—“ she stopped talking feeling his hand along the side of her cheek, he looked sad, he looked lost.

“M’dear—“ he breathed out, “we just need some distraction and we are free—“

“Dutch—“ she pleaded, hoping maybe...maybe he was still in there, “Please, this ain’t right...”

He looked down at her pleading eyes, they looked different somehow, but he wasn’t sure what it was. “Don’t you want to be free, Rose?” he inched closer to her, “free from all of this?“

“I want a lot of things—“ it didn’t matter anymore if she cried and it didn’t matter if anyone saw. She was done, “there’s a lot of things I want, that I can’t have. Things I can’t change. Things I---“ Her vision was blurring as she stood there, her stance wavering slowly as she watched him, “Ya know what I really want, Dutch?”

He didn’t look at her with sadness in his eyes, but with pity, “What do you want?”

A sad smile formed on her lips, “I want to be sittin’ ‘round the campfire with Hosea, Arthur and ya.” She tried to keep the tears from falling down her face, “with Agatha—sleepin’ away in the tent—that’s what I want.”

Dutch closed his eyes for a moment, running a hand through his hair, “We can have that, Rose—“

“No—“ she cut him off abruptly, “we can’t—“ her breathing was ragged as she looked at him, “we can _never_ have that again.” She walked near him and reached out, touching the side of his face. The minute her fingers touched his face, a heartbroken look crossed his eyes.

“Rose...” he whispered out as she pulled her hand away. When her hand reached the fabric of the tent to push away and leave, Dutch’s voice sounded from behind her. “I love you. And I know I tell you that more than...anything else.” She stood there, feeling her heart clench tightly, “But I mean it...even if this all comes to an end.” Rose turned around and faced him, her eyes red and glossed over with tears. A sad laugh echoed from him before he sat down on the bed, covering his mouth for a moment, “If Hosea was still here—“

“But he ain’t, Dutch. He ain’t here...” His gaze went over to her as the tears slid down her face, “I wish he was. Then he’d smack some goddamn sense into ya--”

Dutch stood up quickly and walked over to her, pulling her hard against his chest. She wanted to hit and scream at him, all the pent up emotions wanting to come out faster than she could handle it. But the warmth of him and the tightness of his arms around her swayed the anger as she stood there. The sound of rain began to patter down on the tent, causing her to pull away from him and wipe the tears from her eyes, “I need to head into the city...” he stopped, watching her, “do you want to come with me?”

“Ya ain’t the brightest, are ya?” she shook her head, “I already said I’d go with Sadie--”

He smirked for a moment, “well ain’t that perfect. We can all go together.”

“Dutch--” she went to speak when his eyes went dark, and his hands went and rested on either side of her shoulders.

“Rose--” he looked angry, and she wasn’t sure if it was aimed at her, “I ain’t missing this for the world. I am going to watch that bastard hang for what he did to--”

“Annabelle.” He stopped seeing Rose’s face, “I get it, Dutch.” She pulled away and went to the opening of the tent and letting it fall behind her. She stood there for a few minutes and looked around at the camp, nothing felt the same and no one was happy. Her eyes grazed along everyone till she saw Trelawny sitting down at the table and made her way over to him, “Josiah.” her eyes went down to the suit case by his feet.

He looked up at her as she approached, the look in his eyes almost distraught as he tried to talk to her, “I, um, I was, uh...”

She sat down with him at the table, “leavin’ again, are ya?”

“Yes, just leaving...I’ll see you soon.”

Rose sighed and smiled sadly, “I highly doubt that.”

He looked at her, his brows furrowing, “what do you mean?”

“If I was ya, I’d disappear too.” She looked over to the camp, “there ain’t nothing left here, Josiah.”

“Well, I’ll be back--”

Rose held up her hand, “Ya don’t need to this with me. I know I don’t know ya well...but I know you’ll leave. And it’s best that ya move on.” He watched her eyes, as she looked at his, trying not to cry. “Get outta here.”

He went and slowly grabbed onto his suit cases, “I’ll miss you, Rose. For all those lovely times we did have. You’ve been a fine friend--” she stood up with him as he turned and looked at her, “And for what it’s worth...I really am sorry about your hair.”

She shut her eyes tightly, both laughing and wanting to cry, she reached her hand out, patting the side of his arm, “No ya ain’t. Now go on, ain’t no one looking. Get outta here...”

“Thank you, Rose.” He smiled sadly and slowly walked away from her, disappearing from the grounds. She sat back down at the table and cradled her head in her hands for a moment, needing to breathe, needing to think.

“Fuck--” she whispered to herself.

The sound of footsteps caught Rose’s attention as she looked up from the table, seeing Dutch standing there while Sadie in the background unhitched her horse, “We’re heading into the city. You coming or not?”

Rose stood up from the table, “Like ya said, Dutch. I ain’t missin’ this for the world.”

“Then you’re coming with me.”

“No—I really ain’t. I have m’horse. I can deal just fine--”

He reached out and grabbed onto her arm, it wasn’t rough, it wasn’t hurting. For once, it felt gentle. “We need to talk.”

Her eyes watched his, “isn’t that always the case, Dutch?”

“Don’t argue, Rose. For once, could you not and just trust me?”

“Fine.” she walked with Dutch over to his horse and climbed up behind him as they set off down the road and away from prying eyes. It was silent most of the way, though it seemed like they weren’t moving very fast, “so tell me, what is it ya need to talk to me ‘bout so damn badly--”

“Our son.”

Rose felt her heart drop into her stomach, did he find Noah? There was no way, there could be no way. “Why? It’s not like ya---” she stopped feeling his body tense up, “ever gonna met him...”

The horse came to a complete stop on the road, the winds picked up suddenly as a few dark clouds rolled in, “You must really hate me, if you can’t even tell me one thing about MY son. One goddamn--”

“He loves to read.” her eyes shook as she looked off into the distance, “he really loves to read...” the sadness was beginning to bubble up in her voice as she continued to speak, “When I look at him...I see ya. Except he ain’t swayed by people...he’s strong and kind. He’s so young...”

“Thank you, Rose.” the horse began to trot along the road again, as the rain lightly spat down onto them. “I wish I could meet the boy--”

“No, Dutch. It just ain’t possible--” If this how it would be the whole way, then she wasn’t having any of it. She hopped down off the horse and looked up at him, “so, get that goddamn idea outta your head.”

Dutch hopped down from his horse and looked at her, “I want nothing more---than to be a father to that boy--”

“No!” Rose yelled at him, “Stop it. We ain’t a family and ya have destroyed the one ya do have.” her eyes were red and gloss over with tears, but none fell down her face. She couldn’t keep crying, it would do her no good to do so, “I love Noah. I will NOT let ya take him away. That boy has a chance to be something greater than the both of us.” Dutch walked close to Rose, her bottom lip quivering as she continued to speak, “this ain’t his life. This is ours...and we’re _dying_ , Dutch.”

The rain came down harder as they both stood there in the rain looking at each other, the space seemed small between them as he reached out and grabbed onto the scruff of her neck, pulling her close to his lips, “It ain’t over yet, Rose.”

“Then yer a fool.” she went to pull away from his grip, before his lips pressed eagerly against hers. A soft moan sounded from her before she pulled away and smacked him hard across the face, “Enough!” she yelled at him, “I—I cannot do this. I will not be dragged down with whatever bullshit ya have in store, Dutch. I will NOT watch everythin’ I love be torn to pieces.”

He looked at her with sad eyes, before he walked over to his horse and mounted it. The galloping echoed away into the distance, leaving Rose all alone on the road. The city wasn’t too far away and she could make it there on foot. The sound of Arthur’s voice caught her attention, it was close...too damn close. She turned to look behind her, as she watched him hop down from his horse, “W—what ya doing here...Thought maybe ya’d be in Saint Denis with Sadie by now...”

Arthur walked over to her as she tried to keep her emotions calm. In the end though, her face scrunched up in pain, her eyes shutting tightly for a few moments, “Naw, but as I came by here—I saw you. Figured I’d wait, but then all I could hear was you and Dutch and the echoin’ noise of the bullshit that you two seem to have.” She looked at him, there’d be no point in lying now about it all, he laughed for a moment, giving that angry smile of his, “I hate seeing him with you, there ain’t nothing that pisses me off more.” he coughed hard into his hand, before spitting out whatever blood was in his mouth.

The way he looked at her, how red his eyes were, it was killing her to look at him, “What do ya want me to say, Arthur? Ya tell me and I’ll tell ya whatever ya want---cause I--” her teeth gritted against each other, “I am fuckin’ done with this shit---I’m---” she didn’t want to finish her sentence, she just wanted to get far away from everyone as possible. As she walked forward, Arthur’s hand shot out and pulled her hard against him, both his hands locking behind her back. He felt so warm, so tender and there was a kindness there that she wasn’t entitled to... “No—Arthur--”

“Do you--” he stopped and coughed, “love him?”

Rose went to move away, but his grip only tightened, “I don’t know.”

He closed his eyes at the response, but pressed his nose into her hair, taking in the scent of her. His voice gravelly as he spoke, “then tell me what you do know.”

Rose looked up at him, “I know I love ya…I know how much I wanted ya when ya came into my tent that mornin'--” the tips of her fingers felt hot against his skin as she touched his face, a small smile curving along her lips, “do ya remember?”

“Course I do--" he whispered and pulled her tighter against him, “--now more than ever…” His lips pressed softly against her forehead before pressing against her lips. She knew he was sick...but she didn’t care.

“Arthur—I--”

He looked down at her with his tired eyes, “I don’t care—I don’t care to know what’s been between yous two...” His hand slicked back her wet hair as he looked at her, “Let’s get going...don’t want to miss Colm getting what he deserves.”

She took a deep breathe, trying not to cry, trying not to fall apart in front of him. “Right...” she whispered and walked with him over to his horse as he climbed up, and then grabbed onto Rose’s hand, helping her up. Her arms wrapped tightly around his mid-section, as she leaned her head against his back and listened to the sound of his heart beating. A long sigh sounded from Arthur as he reached his one hand over and ran it over hers. The sound of the rain echoed against the ground as they made their way to Saint Denis. Rose stared out at the passing scenery, breathing through the sadness that wanted to consume her. Being strong was always her thing, she had fallen apart so many times and things were getting worse. The man she loved was dying, and there would be no stopping that. There would be no happy ending for her either... and for some reason that hurt more than any bullet would.

  
  
_The evening rain hit hard along the campsite as Rose stood beneath the tent. Agatha had long fallen asleep. But all Rose heard was the sound of glass being smashed. She walked out into the rain, trying to follow the noise. When she reached an opening, all she could see was Arthur as he threw empty bottles against the tree._

“ _Ya know, it’s hard to sleep with ya throwin’ shit--”_

_Arthur turned and looked at her, he wasn’t happy, “What’s it to you--” he had been drinking, “I don’t need your bullshit here--”_

_Rose walked over to him and grabbed the bottle from him, “Gonna hurt yourself—C’mon--” he pulled away and tried to stagger away from her. She sighed and followed him back to his tent, as he went in and threw himself onto his bed._

“ _Don’t you follow me--”_

“ _Too damn late, Mr. Morgan.” Rose flew the flap open as she walked in, “May I ask what the hell is goin’ on?”_

_Arthur sat on his bed and looked up at her, his eyes dazed from the alcohol, “You women—ain’t there anything good for you?”_

“ _What—Arthur--”_

“ _Mary-- she—she broke off our goddamn engagement. Apparently I ain’t good enough for her family. Well fine--” he kicked off his boots, “Don’t need ‘em.” She walked closer to him before he shot up, causing her to back up, “And what you want?”_

“ _To make sure ya ain’t gonna be stupid--” He moved close to her, he wasn’t happy, he was angry, sad...heartbroken._

“ _Don’t you judge me, Rose—you ain’t perfect.”_

“ _Fuck ya, Arthur---Fuck ya---” she turned away from him, only to have him pull her back, his lips locked hard against hers. He stopped for a moment, unsure if he should be doing this. Their breathing was ragged and hard as he took a moment._

“ _Rose...I--” but she didn’t let him continue. Her lips lacing with his again as her hands worked his shirt. She wanted him, she wanted him and now she could have him. Fuck Mary._

“ _Arthur--” she moaned out as he grabbed onto her blouse and pulled hard on the fabric, ripping it. His fingers went down into her pants and between her legs, causing a loud whimper to sound from her._

_He hummed deep in his throat, “Goddamn girl--” he breathed out, capturing her lips once again and pushing her towards his cot---_

  
  
“You awake back there?” Arthur’s voice chimed in, interrupting her memories, “we’re here--”

“Yeah--” she breathed out and hopped down from his horse, feeling a sharp pain through her body for a few seconds, “I—I’m here--”

Arthur came down and looked at her, before reaching out his hand and grabbing onto her, “C’mon--” he went to pull her close, when she abruptly moved away from him.

“I—I’m fine, Arthur...” Why was she being so mean, when he was just trying to help her. A small pang of guilt hit her. But it didn’t matter all the same, he still reached out and grabbed onto her hand, walking with her into the bar where Sadie and Dutch were sat.

“There you are--” Dutch looked over at Rose for a moment, she wasn’t even sure if he was talking about Arthur or her.

“Here I am.” Arthur replied.

Dutch finished his smoke, while Sadie finished off her drink, “C’mon let’s go.”

Arthur looked over at Sadie, “Why are you so riled up?”

“Today is a great day Arthur. Today is the day they are going to hang Colm O’Driscoll.”

“Either they hang him, or I shoot him...” Sadie looked at the lot of them.

Rose nodded her head, “Yeah, I agree.”

Dutch walked by them, holding onto a box of some sort, which Rose hadn’t noticed before. “Oh they are going to hang him.”

“That boy’s been on the gallows more than most. I wouldn’t count anything until his neck’s broke.”

“Well, nor would I...” Dutch opened a door and grabbed onto Sadie, “Which is why, despite up being wanted men--” He handed Rose a box and shoved her into the small space with Sadie. Leaving the two of them alone.

Rose opened the box and sighed at the sight, “Goddamn it! Thought I’d be rid of these things...” she pulled out a dress, “I can’t win--”

Sadie shook her head and pulled out a dress from her box, “Won’t do ya no good, get the damn thing on and let’s watch this bastard hang...” Rose slowly stripped off her clothing before placing the dress on, “I know ya want him dead, just as much as I do.”

Rose slowly did the buttons up at the front of the dress, before grabbing the hat and placing it on. “I look forward to it. I hate him. I want to watch him suffocate and thrash ‘round till there ain’t no breath in him...”

A small chuckle sounded from Sadie, “Good—now help me with this---”

They all finished changing and walked out of the bar and into the alleyway, Arthur looked over at Rose, as a small smile played along his lips. He remembered the last time she complained about wearing a goddamn dress and for some reason brought him some amusement.

“Well, don’t we just look the part...”

“We’ll cut through the alley to get to the gallows. We keep our weapons holstered, our disguises on and our wits about us.”

Rose laughed for a moment, “Cause ya are all ‘bout that, Mr. Van Der Linde...”

Dutch turned and looked at her for a moment, “What we don’t need is that attitude, Ms. Reeds...”

Arthur looked over at Sadie, “Mrs. Adler...might I say, being a fancy woman of Saint Denis suits you.”

“I’d dress up like the Queen of Sheba if it meant seeing that son of a bitch swing.”

Rose snickered at the comment, “Ain’t that the truth...” she looked over at Arthur, “And might I say, Mr. Morgan ya clean up might fine. Ever consider workin’ for the law?” they continued through the alleyway, seemed like it was gonna be a long walk to the gallows...the thought made Rose cringe for a moment.

“Don’t you start--” Arthur smirked at the comment, “Colm hung me up...nearly butchered me, that don’t mean I’m comfortable in this...woolen coat.”

Sadie turned her head for a moment, “You made it outta that predicament, as I remember Mr. Morgan. My husband weren’t so lucky...”

“You lost your husband. Rose lost Agatha. I lost my darling, Annabelle. That poor boy, Kieran. We’ve all lost something because of Colm. And that is why we will shepherd him to eternity.”

“If we ever make it there--” Rose groaned at the feeling of the heels, “are we there yet?”

“Yes, m’dear—Now keep those fingers off those triggers ‘cause we’ll need cool heads and calm dispositions to see this done.”

Arthur and Rose laughed at the statement, “Practice what you preach, brother.” Arthur chimed in.

Dutch didn’t like that very much, “whatever do you mean?”

“Are you going to keep your cool? Really?” Rose looked over at Arthur and then over at Dutch, “when you seem to lose it, oh so often, now.”

“This doubting and questioning of yours...I miss the old Arthur.”

“Don’t we all!” Arthur gritted through his teeth.

“Why can’t you be like Rose, try and not doubt me for once--” She didn’t like her name being used, not after what happened between her and Dutch on the road. She just wanted to go home, well she wanted to go and have a bath cause she felt gross. But that would have to wait.

“Would you two stop... let’s just get this done, so that we can all go back to that place ya’ll like to fuckin’ call home...” Rose looked over at Arthur, “C’mon now--”

“Yeah, we all got a job to do and we’re all in rough agreement about how we’re doing it...as far as I can tell.” They walked along the streets, slowly nearing the gallows.

“We’ll get it done, alright.”

A huge group of people came into view as they reached the gallows, “Look here. Don’t the public love an execution.”

“Yeah--” Rose slowed down for a moment, seeing the lot of them. Before they all stopped, peeking around the corner of the pillar.

“Alright, good. Now...you see that pair of assholes?”

Arthur looked over, “Sure.”

“They’re Colm’s boys.”

“Yes, I think so.”

Dutch grinned, “What a surprise. I’m glad we’re here.”

Rose watched the two of them, as they snickered before they began to point out towards the balcony.

“What are they pointing at?”

“I don’t know.” Arthur looked over at Dutch, “we gotta follow them to find out.”

They all stood there as a man came and passed the lot of them, Dutch looked over at Rose and Sadie, “You two stay here.”

“Don’t do nothing.” Arthur looked between the two of them before he walked off with Dutch.

“I have no intention of waitin’ ‘round here for those two to come back.” Rose looked over at Sadie, “Ya good being here?”

Sadie nodded her head, “Yeah, better hurry, or you’ll lose ‘em.”

Rose hurried across the street in her heels, as she watched the two of them disappear into an archway. She snuck around finally meeting the two of them, as they hid on either side of the doorframe. Rose came up and lightly touched Arthur’s causing him to jump for a moment, before she pressed her finger to her lips, indicating silence.

The two men in the courtyard began to talk, as they all listened in, “What’s it look like?”

“Bunch of cops.”

“How many?”

“Enough... so what do you think?”

“Paul’s up on the roof...and once he starts shooting, we have to have our wits about us and move fast.”

“Yeah...I guess we faced worse than this before.”

“Sure--”

“Let’s get to it.” The two left the courtyard.

Dutch looked over at Arthur, not seeing Rose for a moment, “so, they got a guy up on the roof, overlooking the gallows. Find a way up there...onto on of these verandas, through a building, maybe. And get him. And...do it silently.”

“Well, obviously I’m gonna do it silently, I wanna see this bastard swing.”

“Yeah, Dutch.” Rose chimed in with a smirk on her face.

He looked over seeing Rose, “I though I told you to stay with Sadie.”

“And I changed m’mind. Don’t think ya’ll are gonna have fun without me. And I very much need to see that fucker die. So...let’s get going--”

“Oh no--” Dutch held his hand up, “you’re coming with me--”

“I ain’t goin’ nowhere with ya.” She hurried along and followed Arthur up the ladder and onto the veranda. They both walked into the building and headed up the stairs.

Arthur finally chiming in, “It would probably have been easier just to leave with him.”

“Don’t ya start. Don’t. I ain’t here to fight. Let’s find this bastard and get this show on the road...” her heels clicked along the floor as they reached the top.

“With those things on?” he motioned to her feet.

Rose smirked as she peeked her head out the open window and climbed out onto the roof, “Oh Mr. Morgan, there are plenty of things I can do in heels. And right now, it’s making sure Colm hangs for what he did to Agatha!” She hurried along the roof tops, Arthur following not to far behind before they reached a ledge.

“What’s this then?” he motioned down, “a gun case--”

Rose went to hop off the side when Arthur held her back, “Arthur--”

“Stay here and cover me...just in case.”

“Fine.” she sighed as he hopped off the side and the minute his feet had hit the ground, a man came running out and tackled Arthur down.

Arthur punched the guy in the face and stood up, “Your boss is gonna swing, I promise.” Rose pulled out her knife wanting to jump down and help. Not that she’d be much help in a dress. They both fought hard, punching and dodging, till Arthur shoved his knife into the guys stomach a few times. Rose hopped down as the man fell onto the ground, and bled out. He walked over and picked up the rifle, the two of them both stood on the roof and looked down below.

“Fair citizens of Saint Denis. For as long as any of us can remember, it is justice that separates us from barbary. Yet justice itself can at times be barbaric. For sometimes a man is so savage, the only way to deal with him justly is by savagery. Colm O’Driscoll is one such man.”

Rose knelt down beside Arthur as she watched them bring out Colm. It felt like years that she had been waiting for this moment to happen. So many times of fighting and seeking him out, there would be peace soon... at least when it came to Agatha.

“He had murdered, tortured, robbed, stolen, raped and abused for a decade across five states. Seemingly with impunity. Today justice catches up with him--”

Colm’s laughter echoed throughout the gallows, “As well you may. I’ve been a bad man--”

“Silence!”

“These charges...” his voice was silenced by a gag that was tied around his mouth.

“This is not a court where you shall be tired. This is a place where your sentence is to be carried out and your sentence Colm O’Driscoll is that you are to be hanged by the neck until you are dead.” Rose stood up and looked down at Colm as the rope went around his neck, “This is not a task we take lightly...it is not a task we enjoy.” Colm looked up to the roof where Rose and Arthur stood, as they both waved. There seemed to be great panic within him, that the only way of getting out alive, was no longer an option. “But it is a task we must carry out if our civilization is to prosper.”

A great weight lifted off of Rose as she watched Colm fall down, his body flailing around for a few moment before it stilled and swung there. “It’s done...” she breathed out, “It’s done, Agatha--” There was no time to enjoy the view as the sound of gun shots and screaming echoed in the air. Dutch’s voice yelled out at the two of them on the roof.

“Morgan, Reeds! You hear us? Take a shot on these O’Driscolls!”

Arthur groaned and held up the sniper rifle and began to fire off. Rose pulled out her pistol and peeked over the side, “I’m gonna head down---Can’t shoot worth shit up here--”

“Go!” Arthur yelled out as she hurried along the side off the building and jumped down onto the veranda below. She hissed out in pain for a moment and then came up, aiming her pistol and taking a few shots, trying to get Dutch and Sadie out of there. All she could hear was Dutch and Sadie yelling. A man ran over trying to take cover near the pillar, as Rose shot off her gun, taking him down. Dutch and Sadie ran through the gallows and finally reached a carriage as they hurried out of there. Dutch waved his hand at the both of them before disappearing from the scene.

Arthur came down from the roof and met up with Rose, as they both left the area to go and ditch the clothing.

“Ya comin’ back to camp yet, Arthur?”

“Got something I need to do. Then I’ll be head back--” he turned away from her as she stood there on the road, watching him walk away. After some time she hurried after him, following him to wherever he was going. There was something not right between the two of them and she couldn’t leave it. She just couldn’t. However where she had followed him to, lead her to a fancy hotel, and to him, heading upstairs into the Bathing room.

Her feet were light as she walked up the stairs and over to the door, her hand knocking on the door and putting on the best voice that she could, “Do ya need some assistance in there?”

“Yeah—sure--” Rose opened the door and quickly shut it as she looked down at him, leaning against the door. He shook his head, “following me?”

“Little bit.” she looked at him, wet and naked in the tub. She took off her jacket and laid it on the chair along with her gun belt. “Here--” she grabbed onto the sponge and soaked it in the water. Her eyes ran along his body, he was still muscular, still strong...he almost didn’t look sick... She ran the sponge along his skin as she leaned in close, he turned his head and looked up at her.

“You gonna get in here?” a small smirked played along his lips, “or am I gonna pull you in?” the thought turned her on, being with him...it’s all she ever wanted. But after what happened today, she wasn’t even sure she deserved such intimacy.

“I--” she wasn’t sure what to say. But Arthur grabbed onto her arm anyways and yanked her into the tub. Some of the water splashed out of the sides, her clothes now soaked and stuck to her skin. She stared at him, not really impressed with what he did, “I’m wet.”

“Good--” he looked at her with loving eyes, before he bent down and whispered against her ear, “saves me having to do it.”

She moved and stood up peeling off her clothing and throwing it to the side, “Bastard--” she breathed out, smiling for a moment before he reached up and pulled her back down onto him. A soft moan sounded from her as she felt his cock twitch and push against her cunt, her legs on each side of his hips.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and pulled her close. “I don’t know...how much time I got left, Rose...but---” he pressed his face into her neck, her fingers lacing through his hair, “I love you and that’s what I need--” she gasped as he pushed her hips down onto him. Warmth and tightness wrapped around his throbbing cock as he slowly moved his hips against hers, “All I need--”

Her eyes shut tightly, feeling a few tears slide down her cheeks, “A—arthur--” she moaned out, holding him close, her hands moving down and cupping his face. He could see the tears in her eyes, as his one hand reached up and cupped the side of her face.

“Rose--” he pulled her hard against his lips, as he tried to up his pace. The sounds of her moans and gasps echoing in his ear with each thrust. The anger that he had felt towards her...though it was mostly towards Dutch, melted away in the bath water. He could feel his body wanting to give away and not bother, the strength he had was slowly dwindling as the days went on. His fingers dug into her hips as he thrust upwards, causing more of the water from the bath to splash over the sides.

A surge of pleasure shot through her as she moaned loudly against his lips, her cunt squeezing tightly around his cock as she came hard and fast. He groaned still sawing in and out of her core, his one hand tight on her hips as he fucked her. She pulled away to breathe, hearing his voice whisper hotly against her ear, “I’m gonna cum--” the words sent a shiver down her spine, only causing her to ache more with desire.

“Arthur--” she cried out, his hips hitting hard against hers before stilling, and moaning against her neck. They sat there together for what seemed like seconds before she looked down at him, “that was fast--”

“Oh shut it.” he laughed for a moment before a coughing fit took over, however it didn’t last very long before he turned his attention back to hers, “You quit that now--”

“Quit...what?”

He pulled her head down and rested it against his shoulder as he held her close. There was nothing to say, there was nothing that he could say. His skin felt hot to the touch as she nuzzled into the crook of his neck, pressing close to him. After this...she wasn’t sure if there would be another time for them, time was running out.

“Do ya ever wonder, what would had happened, had I not left yer tent that night...when ya was so upset ‘bout Mary?”

He laughed for a moment, “You seemed so damn happy about what happened.”

“That wasn’t it—“ she spoke into his neck, feeling the heat emanating off of him, “I just really wanted ya--"

__  
  
Arthur pushed her down onto the cot as he crawled over top of her, his lips locked to hers as his hands wandered along her body. Soft gasps and moans sounded from her, causing his cock to twitch and throb with excitement.

_Rose ran her hands along his chest, tasting nothing but the whiskey from his mouth. Her hands went down to her pants and as she undid them, allowing Arthur more access. His hand slipped down into her pants and between her legs, “Goddamn--” his words slurred a little bit as he pressed his fingers against her clit, feeling how soaked she was. He hummed deep in his throat and moved close to her, pressing his fingers hard against her and moving them in circling motions. Her fingers wrapped tightly through his hair and pulled him close, her lips pressing against his eagerly, before she slid a hand down to the bulge that had formed in his pants._

_A realization dawned on him as he grabbed onto her hand, stopping her, “Don’t--”_

_For a moment, she thought she had done something wrong, “Arthur?”_

_His eyes trailed along hers, taking in the sight of her before pulling away, “I—I can’t--”_

 

“And I wanted you---but I just couldn’t do that to ya...” his eyes watched hers, “not when I was upset as I was...” his hands ran down along her sides, and down between her legs, causing a small moan to sound from her.

“I love ya--” she breathed out and held him close for a long while. When the water was too cold to bear, they both got out of the tub and dried off. They knew they’d have to head out, to wherever Dutch was and to whatever plan he had in store.

They both headed out of the hotel and over to Arthur’s horse, with nothing but the sounds of nature echoing in their ears. Rose looked over at Arthur, feeling a sense of dread, “I--” he turned his head and looked over at her, “I—I don’t wanna go...”

Arthur sighed, he didn’t want to go either as he climbed up onto his horse and helped her up. “I know. But Eagle Flies needs our help and we can’t leave Dutch with ‘em.”

“I know...I just...I’m scared. And it’s not gettin’ any better...”

Arthur covered his mouth, coughing for a moment, “We can’t leave Eagle Flies to him, Rose. I just—we can’t.”

Rose nodded her head, “I get it, Arthur. Ya don’t need to explain to me. I’m afraid.’  
  
Arthur looked over at her and nodded his head, “I know. But there ain’t anything else we can do except help, Rose.”

“Then lead the way, Mr. Morgan.”

   
Their travels took them out to a ridge overlooking down at a road through a vast forest. They could see Dutch and the others, peeking down. Rose hopped down from Arthur’s as Dutch turned his head and looked at both her and Arthur for a moment, “So good of you join us...”

“What’s going on?”

“Rebellion. The smell of cordite and integrity. It is a beautiful thing.”

Rose looked at the lot of them, she didn’t know what was going on and didn’t want to find out.

“What are you all doing?” Arthur asked.

“I thought you knew--” Rose looked over at Arthur. Apparently he knew as much as she did, which was nothing.

“An eye for an eye. We didn’t start this, Arthur.” Dutch pointed, “They did.”

“We? This ain’t our fight.” Arthur looked over at Dutch.

“It surely is.” Dutch looked over at Rose, who caught the glimpse of his gaze before looking away. She wasn’t sure she could say anything at this point and walked over, kneeling down beside Eagle Flies.

Arthur pointed his finger at Dutch, “Whatever it is you’re planning...it ain’t a good idea. They want you to fight.”

“Nobody will be killed.” One of the men said before they walked away.

“We’re just gonna trap a few of them in the valley...disarm them--” Dutch turned around and began to walk away, “tar and feather them...and remind them to leave these boys alone.” he reached in and pulled out a box of dynamite.

Arthur wasn’t too pleased about that, “You have energy for pranks?”

“Come on, Arthur. It’s just tweaking Uncle Sam’s nose a little. I need you to help me.” Dutch looked over at Rose, “And it would be awful nice if you’d get on board Ms.Reeds.”

She watched him as he walked over to her, “Dutch...please.”

“M’dear...trust me. The both of you.” They all began to walk along the ridge and down the hill, before Dutch turned his head and began to whisper to them, “besides, it’s perfect, people will see these boys, they won’t notice us and they’ll think we’re gone. Everyone will blame everything on the Indian problem and we’ll disappear...up the river.” Rose felt her heart clench tight in her chest, this was wrong, everything Dutch was doing was wrong. On some level she knew that Dutch was using Eagle Flies but...it would result in something much more horrifying, “but first we need to trap them in this pass...help me dynamite up these trees.”

“How can ya do that?” her voice was barely a whisper.

Dutch looked over at her, “Do what, Rose? Don’t you want to get out of here. Don’t you want a better life?”

“This ain’t right—you’re just—using ‘em!”

“No, m’dear, no...never... but it is mutually beneficial to draw attention to one problem and a veil over another.”

Arthur sighed, “These are good people...but their situation is real complex, we ain’t helping them.”

“Sure we are--” Dutch hurried on down the hill ahead to the tree line, “Come on, let’s get this done.”

Rose looked over at Arthur, with such a hardened look on her face, “We’re gonna get these people killed...” Arthur looked at her, “I don’t wanna hurt ‘em, Arthur. I’ve seen everything that they are. And this...ain’t we the monsters here?”

He reached his hand out and touched her shoulder, “we got a job to do.”

“Arthur!” Dutch yelled out, “pick up that spool and Rose—come and help place the dynamites.”

Her eyes went to Arthur’s for a moment before she sighed and walked across the road and over to Dutch as he handed her over some TNT, “What the hell is it that ya think ya are doin’ here?”

“I already told you. I want out, Rose. I want us out. We all deserve a much better life than this.”

“Ya goddamn fool. There ain’t a better life. This is it. This is all we got. And ya ain’t helpin’ anyone with doin’ this shit!” she hissed through her teeth, “gonna destroy everythin’ in one shot?”

Dutch laughed for a moment, “you are on fire, m’dear. Maybe if you could see that I’m doing this for you—for us--”

“There ain’t no us!” her voice slightly raised as she looked at him, “ya quit that--”

“You can’t lie, Rose. Deny all you want.” he edged close to her, “But I know the truth. I _know.”_

“Ya don’t know shit, Dutch--”

“We don’t have a lot of time!” Eagle Flies voice cut into the conversation, “the patrol should be coming in a few minutes.”

“If you’re not gonna help--” Dutch grabbed the dynamite from Rose, “Get back up on that hill and we will discuss this later.”

“Fuck ya--” she turned on her heel and headed back up the hill. She didn’t know her feelings, but right now that didn’t matter. What mattered was the impending doom that was going to be coming up that road. She watched as Dutch and Arthur set up the dynamite and connected it to the wires. Rose walked over beside Eagle Flies and looked at him as he stared out, keeping an eye out, “Do ya really think this’ll help the cause?”

He didn’t budge and didn’t look at her as he spoke, “Father doesn’t know anything. This is how it has to be. We are not here to kill today. Our people don’t deserve this treatment and I am the only one willing to put a stop to it. My father is foolish.” he looked over at Rose for a moment, “Yet you look more distraught than any of us.”

“It ain’t gonna help. The sooner ya see that, the better.”

Eagle Flies looked down at Arthur and Dutch, “I think that should do it. Come on now, quick, get back up here.”

Dutch and Arthur ran back down along the road before making their way up the hill and over to the lot of them. Rose knelt down with everyone else as they peeked over the side of the cliff, “My spotter will let us know when they’re near.” They all watched the road, waiting, however it didn’t take long, “they’re near...Oh, damn...”  
  
“What’s wrong?” Rose whispered.

“The patrol is a lot larger than we thought it was gonna be...”

Dutch chuckled, “don’t worry...that’s a good thing...”

“Okay, that’s the signal. Here they come. Stay low and quiet.”

Rose pulled up her bandana around her face and kept a watchful eye out. Before Dutch started speaking to Arthur, “You sure you don’t want me to man that plunger, Arthur?”

“No, I got it.” he snipped back.

“Oh, remove the weight of the world, from your shoulders for a minute. Like I said, we’re just going to give them a bit of a scare...”

“Yeah, Dutch. We heard ya the first time.” Rose rolled her eyes, seeing the group of men coming up the road.

“There they are...looks like more than we thought.”

“It’s fine, we’re only here to talk...and administer a little good old-fashioned humiliation. You’re owed that son, at the very least.”

“Wait for my lead, men--”

Dutch chimed in and it drove Rose nuts. Who was running the plan here? “Everyone just stay calm. We’ve got the upper hand here.”

Rose watched as Arthur reached over and pushed down on the detonator, causing a huge explosion to echo throughout the valley. Two trees fell down, cutting the men off from escaping. Eagle flies stood up and aimed his gun, “put your hands up. You’re surrounded. Nobody need get hurt. Your humiliation of us has gone on quite enough.”

“So we are using guns--” she mumbled and reached behind her back, pulling out her rifle as she stood up.

“This ain’t a good idea.” one of the men down below said.

“Put down yours guns--”

“You’re making a mistake, boy.”

Dutch walked over to the ledge and stared down at the lot of them, “no, you’re making a mistake.” he pointed his gun down at the men, “put your hands up, soldier. Take a little humiliation and leave these fine folks alone.”

“Who are you?”

“A concerned citizen.” Dutch stared down at the lot of them.

“Is that so?”

“They’re being ambushed!” a voice echoed.

“What now?” Eagle flies lowered his gun.

“We should move!” Arthur voice was filled with concern.

Dutch held up his hand, halting everyone, “No, no, no, no, not quite yet...”

“Are ya mad!” Rose stared down at the men, “we need to go!”

“Get ready to fire!” one of the men said down below. None of this was going according to plan and Rose wasn’t sure they were gonna make it out this time.

“Soldier, you and your friends going to tuck tail and run off? Run!” Dutch kept his gun pointed.

“Excuse me?”

Dutch looked over at everyone, “I’m getting bored of this...” A gun sounded off, causing all of them to duck and back away from the edge, “your friends fired first, soldier!”

“Fuck--” Rose aimed her gun and began to shoot who she could.

“My father won’t be happy about this.”

A few rounds sounded from Dutch’s guns, “they fired first, son.”

“Would ya shut it--” a few bullets whizzed by Rose before one went into her left thigh, causing her to fall backwards, “shit!” she looked down seeing the blood soaking through her pants. Arthur came over from the edge and helped her up.

“You need to get outta here--”

“I’m—fine--ain’t like it--” she cried out feeling the pain shoot through her leg, “I—I can—fight--”

“There’s another patrol in the rear!”

Rose looked at Arthur, “Let me fight--”

“Look out! they’re coming up on our left!”

She pulled away from Arthur and went down behind the rock, pulling out her pistol and looking as she saw a quite a few men rushing up the hill. She took aim and shot off her gun, taking down a couple of them. Arthur hurried over, his gun going off each second. Eagle Flies came over and joined them, shooting who he could. After some time, silence finally came over everything as Arthur turned and looked at all of them, “You fools, you damn fools, it’s the army!”

“It is one regiment of pasty chefs and bullies, watch your goddamn mouth.” Dutch said as he ran by and began to loot some of the bodies, “all of you...take what you can and then we move out!”

Arthur walked over and helped Rose up, wrapping her arm around his shoulder, “Move now, we have to move now.”

“Search these men first, then we move.”

She could hear the sigh, the anger as Arthur spoke, “this is crazy, why aren’t we getting out of here?”

Dutch looked over at Arthur, “They might have information on them, that will help our friends with their cause.”

“We need anything my father can use to strengthen our case.”

Arthur shook his head, “I ain’t sure much is gonna strengthen your case after this...”

“Go--” Rose cringed a little as she tried to stand on her left leg, “I’m fine, I can walk...sort of.”

He hurried off with the others and went looting through all the soldiers pockets in the hopes of finding something. Rose hobbled along the road with everyone, trying to help the best she could. Even though after this, she wasn’t sure what would happen.

“I have a bad feeling about this. We said nobody would be killed.”

“It’s done now--” one of them said as he looted a body.

“If Colonel Favours finds out it was us...”

“Find anything?” Dutch asked as Arthur pulled out a letter.

“Yes...some poor fool from New Jersey. These boys ain’t the problem...they’re only kids--”

A loud explosion sounded off near the lot of them as they went flying to the ground. Rose screamed out feeling the pain in her leg before she pushed herself to run up the hill, and there were more of those men...so many more.

“Shit! Everyone keep your heads down! We’re gonna get out of this.”

She took some cover behind a tree, and kept behind it, only shooting out when she could. Though the pain was beginning to blind her. Making it hard to keep aim or see much for that matter.

The sound of Eagle Flies voice echoed over the gun shots, “No, my brothers!” Paytah! Are you alright?” There didn’t seem to be a response from him. “What do we do here, Dutch? This is a lot of men.”

“Just hold your ground...Surrender and they’ll hang you all--”

Rose was trying to breathe through the pain as Arthur ran on ahead, trying to flank the men. She wasn’t sure she could move from that spot as the wound in her leg throbbed and bled. Arthur came back and grabbed onto her, pulling her away from the tree, “hang in there---”

“Where’s Paytah?” Eagle Flies looked around, but saw no sight of him. The sound of the military horn echoed close.

“Damn...they’re sending riders from the fort, we need to leave.” Arthur looked down at the wound in her leg. It was beginning to fester and soon it would be infected.

“But where’s Paytah? Was he killed?” They looked down to see a figure slowly moving, and there was some relief in Eagle Flies voice, “he’s alive...”

There was anger brewing in Arthur as he sat Rose down on a rock, giving her a moment as he reemed into Dutch, “Well! That went just about according to plan.”

He turned and looked at him before waving his hands about, “I’m trying...I’m trying, Arthur, with everything I have and I will keep trying and you’ll keep doubting me and we’ll keep failing.”

“It ain’t like that, Dutch. Look at me. Look at me!” Arthur raised his voice as Dutch turned his and looked at him.

“I’m just--” he looked over at Rose for a moment, there was sweat on her face, and her breathing was shallow, “I’m worried about folk.”

“I know, I-- “ the sound of a cannon echoed into the distance before it slammed down near the lot of them. Rose pushed herself up from the rock.

“Gott—to go--” she breathed out. Arthur grabbed onto her before she stopped and shook her head, “Run, Arthur. I—I’ll make it back another way---” she wiped some of the sweat from her eyes, “Go—I--I won’t be far behind--”

“No—we are not leaving you, Rose--” Dutch grabbed onto her hand and went to pull her, when she yanked her hand back.

“Go! Won’t—won’t do ya both no good if your dead---” she backed up, walking slowly before turning on her heel and hobbling towards to river. The pain in her leg screamed with each step she took as the sound of the cannons blasted off every second. Her mind racing as she fled away, the sound of running water neared closer and closer. What had happened to Eagle Flies? And what would happen to him? So much had happened to his people that…this wasn’t going to end well for them. The energy she had was slowly dwindling down as she reached the river, wanting to stop and take a breather. “Fuck—“ her voice cried out as her hand went down and covered the bullet wound in her thigh. She walked over to the river side and sat down, grabbing some of the water and trying to clean the wound. It seemed that whoever was coming after them, had headed off in a different direction as she sat there, feeling the frustration of what happened.

“I—I ain’t cut out for this anymore, Agatha—“ her eyes shut tightly as she wiped away the tears that fell down her dirt covered face, “I—I can’t—“ the sound of gunshots turned her attention from her thoughts and turned to look through the trees, wondering if those men had decided to go a different route. She pulled out her pistol aiming it, they wouldn’t take her, not without a fight. Someone pushed through the trees as her arm shook. Relief took over when she saw Eagle Flies. “H-hey!” she tried to yell out.

He turned quickly, aiming his bow and arrow, and lowered them, seeing her. “You’re alive--” he hurried over and looked down at the wound in her leg, “where are the others?”

“I—I don’t know.” she breathed through the pain, “Ya need to get outta here--” He reached down and wrapped his arm underneath her as he pulled her up and walked her over to the river side.

“No—I—I lost Paytah...I need to go and look for him--” She looked down at the rap rivers, wondering why they were standing there and not making a run for it. “I’m sorry to do this--”

“Do what?” there was confusion for a moment before he let go of her and shoved her into the river. The fall wasn’t far, but it was enough. Her body hit hard and sunk, the cold water wrapping tightly around her before she shot up, catching her breath.

“Eagle--” some water hit against her mouth, stopping her sentence. The river moved fast, pulling her away from the sight of Eagle Flies, being grabbed and pulled away from view. The rivers pulled her down along the mountain side, wondering if there would ever be an end to this. It wasn’t until she heard the sound of Dutch’s voice that she tried to look and caught a glimpse of Dutch pulling Arthur out of the water.

“Dut--” her voice cut off by the water hitting her, before she tried once more, “Dutch!” she screamed out, her voice echoing throughout the valley. Her body caught onto a rock, her fingers trying to grip it, with very little luck.

“Hang on!” she heard his voice over the running water and could see him, wading through towards her. Arthur was on the other end, holding onto his rope as Dutch came over and grabbed onto her. “I’ve got you--”

“Dutch--” she whispered, feeling tired and weak.

The pain in her leg, had numbed, either from the cold water or from the fact that she may have lost all feeling in it. They reached the land-side as he pulled her out of the water, seeing the blood along her pants. They laid her down on the ground as she tried to breathe through the pain.

“Still with us, m’dear?” Dutch huffed out as he spoke.

She coughed for a moment, “Unfortunately.”

“We’re okay--” he patted the side of her face, before he pulled away and sat down on the ground, “we’re—okay.”

“What a mess...” Arthur groaned out.

“I know..but a mess is what we need. We just escaped from chaos. Eagle Flies must have been taken.”

“Taken...or killed.” Arthur looked at the river.

Rose sat up, cringing at the pain, “I—I saw him get grabbed by those men--” her breathe was short, “I reckon they won’t—kill him. Not yet anyways...”

“Well we can’t go find out.”

Arthur agreed, “No, not now.”

Dutch went to stand up, “Charles...I’ll...send him. Where is he?”

“He’s probably back at camp.”

Dutch looked over at Rose, “Let’s split up. I’ll go tell him...You rest up, Arthur...then go meet him up at the reservation. We are going to make it. I can feel it.” Dutch began to walk away from the two of them, “Faith, Arthur. Have faith.”

Arthur turned and looked at Rose, her breathing short and her hand pressed firmly against the wound, “What faith? We just makin’ things---worse---”

He got up and walked over to her, helping her up and wrapping his arm around her, “C’mon—let’s get you home--”

“Home? There ain’t home to go to...” her eyes closed for a moment, “Arthur—I--If ya let me...I’d like to go with Charles. I can’t stand being at camp no more...”

“And—what about your wound?”

She chuckled for a moment, “It ain’t nothin’ I haven’t dealt with before. Please—I just—can’t deal with goin’ back to despair and bullshit...”

Arthur held her close as they walked up the hill and back to the road, taking their time getting back to Beaver Hallow. Whether it was half way there or barely there at all, Rose collapsed in his arms, the pain replaced by darkness that shrouded her eyes. When she woke, her body was hot, her clothes still drenched from before and now worse, with her sweat. She looked around the cave, seeing no one there with her.

“A—arthur--” she called out, with no answer. The wound in her leg had been tended to, during the time of her being unconscious. She stared up at the roof of the cave, staring at the rock as she continued to lay there.

“You’re awake--” she turned her head, seeing Dutch standing there with something in his hands.

“Ya sound, so damn happy ‘bout that...” she pushed herself up slowly, “What’s that.” she motioned to the bundle in his hands.

“Clothes, m’dear...” he placed them down, “But it would seem that you have run out, and are now digging into mine.”

She sighed, “I don’t need ‘em that much, if you’s gonna be like that. I don’t mind stealin’ from Arthur.”

Dutch laughed and shook his head, “We’re all running out of everything it would seem...it’s better than those wet ones.”

Rose sat up and placed her feet on the floor, before Dutch walked over and helped her up, “Need some help?” his eyes ran down her features.

“I’ve been dressin’ m’self for the last 25 years, Dutch. What’s one more?”

He pulled away, not putting up a fight this time. But as she slowly pulled off the clothing exposing her bare back, Dutch turned and peeked, seeing the bruising and pain that invaded her body. For a moment, he felt a deep sadness and wanted to go to her. But soon that moment passed, allowing him to walk away, leaving her to change in peace. When she emerged from the darkness of the cave, the sun shined brightly, causing her eyes to hurt before adjusting. She walked over to Dutch, who was sat in a chair. “Well, well. Didn’t think you’d ever come out.”

Rose smirked, “Ya wear funny pants. Ridiculous things, and this damn vest--” she handed it back over to him and then looked around the camp, “where’s Arthur?”

“I don’t know, m’dear. I just don’t know...”

Rose looked over, seeing Micah eyeing the two of them and she didn’t like it one bit. “Then I’m gonna go and head on out--”

He grabbed onto her hand as she went to walk away from him, “One thing, Rose--”

Her breathing was slow as she looked at him, “What’s that, Dutch?”

He stood up from the chair and pulled her close to him. His eyes staring at hers as she stood there waiting for him to say something. Anything at this point. But he just watched her eyes, with such...terror in them. “Dutch...” her voice was low. The feeling of Micah’s eyes burned into the back of her head, “why are ya lookin’ at m’like that?”

His grip loosened around her wrist, a sudden sadness crossing his eyes, “Like...what?”

“Like—yer’ gonna--” her voice wavered for a second, “--devour me...”

Dutch reached his hand up and lightly pressed the pad of his thumb against her bottom lip. His brows furrowing as he watched her. “Rose--” he pulled back quickly and let go of her. Something had clicked inside of him, causing a deep despair, “Go--” he couldn’t look at her.

She stood there for a moment, remembering when she said those words the first time...when he had first kissed her. A small pang of pain hit her as she turned away from him and headed over to her horse. Her hands gripped tightly onto the reins as she turned and looked behind at Dutch. He finally pulled his gaze from the ground and looked over at her. There was too much there between them for her to go back. For her to tell him that she was there, that she cared and they didn’t need to do this.

The hooves hit hard against the ground as she made her way out of camp and down along the road, heading towards the reservation to meet Charles. There was no time to think about Dutch and what was happening, she needed to focus on the task at hand...and that was getting Eagle Flies out of the Fort. On the way there, many thoughts ran through her head about Fort Wallace and none of them had been good. The damn place had always been under a tight guard, no one getting in and no one getting out...not alive at least. Her heart beat hard and fast in her chest as she made her way along the road, unable to ignore the dark thoughts that were now starting to linger and take their toll.

Lily’s hooves hit hard against the ground as she made her way into the reservation, Charles stood near one of the tents, waiting patiently. Rose hopped down from her horse and walked over to him, his gaze looking up at she approached.

“Wasn’t sure who was coming. Thought Arthur would be with you.”

She smiled softly for a moment, “I think he went off to help Sadie with somethin’.”

Charles stood up as they both walked together, “Thank you for coming.”

“Ya know I don’t mind, Charles. It ain’t right for that boy to hang...”

Charles looked at her, as they walked over towards Rains Fall’s tent, “The chief...he’s uh...he’s very...maybe you could speak to him?”

“Sure.”

“He’s in his tent.” he looked over and stopped a ways outside, “I’ll wait here.”

Rose walked over to the tent and crouched down for a moment, “Hello?” she said.

“Come in.” She ducked into the tent and sat down on the ground across from Rains Fall, he looked scared, worried. But then again...she was too. “ Ms. Reeds. I am surprised to see you here. How is Mr.Morgan?”

Her eyes went down to the fire, as she watched the flames. “He’s...as good as he can be. All things considered... How are ya?”

“My son...my son is foolish but he’s still my son.”

“I know him a little...Very brave...very angry...” she laughed quietly for a moment, “I see m’self in him.”

“How is your father?”

Rose looked over at him, that was something that no one in the entirety of the world had ever asked her. Her eyes grew tired and distance, “Dead, by m’hand. A long time ago...I was very young. Tryin’ to...protect m’sister. But it wasn’t soon enough...”

Rains Fall sighed, “my son probably wishes the same to me.” He laughed, and a part of it broke her heart to hear him.

“I reckon that ain’t the case.”

“I want peace. I need my people to be safe. All my life I’ve tried to bring peace. But I love my son. They’ll hang him for treason. Treason. He is the chief’s son of a proud nation. How could he commit treason? People have lied to my people for a hundred years or more...that’s treason. Well...what should I do?”

She rubbed her eyes, feeling a small pain in her body, “There ain’t gonna be a chance in reasoning with Colonel Favours--”

“No, and any chance we had, your friend Mr. Van der Linde has ensured relations between us and the army are worse than any point in the last five years. I’m sure he means well, but matters are more complex than he understands.”

Rose understood what Dutch had done, that everything was worse now because of him...because of them. She took a deep breathe and stood up, “Me and Charles’ll try and rescue yer son.”

“No!” Rains Fall held up his hand.

“Yes...yes. There ain’t no changin’ m’mind. I ain’t got nothin’ and ya got--” she turned to look at him as she went to go outside of the tent, “I’m goin’.” the tent flapped shut behind her, “Charles! Where are ya?” Her gaze went over to him as he came out of the shadows, “C’mon, let’s get this done. We need to get Eagle Flies back. But I don’t know how we can.”

He walked beside her as they made their way over to the horses, “I’ve been working on that. I think there’s a way. Follow me.”

“I’m worried, Charles...” she said mounting her horse. “Real worried...”

They both hurried out of the camp, moving as fast as they could on their mounts. “There’s no need for that Rose. I’ve been scouting the fort. The army are patrolling all the main roads and bridges in and out but, if we can get the horses across the river, I found a route that should get us in fairly close. If we wait until late enough, there’s a place we should be able to sneak in around the back.”

“Fine by me, Charles. I ain’t gonna argue. I trust ya.”

“No guns. Just knives and arrows--” the horse galloped along the road, heading to the river, “if we start making a lot of noise, he’ll be dead before we get close to him.”

She nodded her head, “Alright.”

“I left two canoes down river, in case we need another way out of there.”

Rose felt her heart beating hard in her chest, she had done crazy stuff before during her life. But...this hit hard with her, she needed to get Eagle Flies out of there and in one piece. Fear was gnawing at her every move as they made their way towards Fort Wallace.

“You know...this wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Dutch.”

“It ain’t all Dutch’s fault...Not like the rest of us really fought the damn idea.”

“He saw Eagle Flies burned hot and he fanned the flames. He’s not helping that tribe. He’s helping himself.” Charles was pissed, really pissed, “You see that, or you wouldn’t have gone behind Dutch’s back.”

Rose sighed sadly, “I just—I just want everyone to be safe... I’m worried. There’s gotta be a way to save this situation. To try and—bring back the old Dutch...” They headed down a steep hill, the moon lighting up their way, “Rains Fall is a good man. He don’t deserve this.”

“I don’t know, Rose. Rains Fall is in a tough situation and as for Dutch.”

“I—I can’t give up on him...not yet, Charles. There’s so much there that I---I can’t just walk away.” There was a building in the far off distance and a river that laid down below them as they went along. “But, Charles...if it goes bad in there, ya need to get yerself out.”

“No. Come on, don’t start talking like that.”

Her voice wavered for a moment, “I ain’t got much left anymore... I’m losin’ people...everythin’ is...it’s fallin’ apart and at this point...it don’t matter if I go...”

“Rose.” he sighed, “any day, we can die. We’re riding to break an Indian Chief’s son out of a cavalry fort. We could both die tonight.”

The sound of running water grew louder in her ears as they went down, finally reaching the river to tread across. “How very optimistic of ya, Charles.”

“Just keep your head strong, we’re close now.”

The cold river stung against her skin as they went through with the horses, a small chill invaded her bones for a moment before they left the river and headed up the steep hill, “Are you alright?” Charles looked over at her.

“I’m fine...”

“That current’s strong. Up here, follow me.”

“I ain’t gonna lie, Charles...I...I ain’t feelin’ all that good ‘bout this.” the rain began to pour down on the both of them, “and this rain—it’s brutal.”

“Yeah, but might help us with sneaking in there.” they went through a small cove, with the horses, huge cliffs on either side of them. She looked around, wondering when they would be getting there. “So, Rains Fall told me there was some retaliation after the meeting with Colonel Favours. Some women were taken, elders beaten.”

“I—I didn’t know they had met.”

“Arthur was with us... but, yeah...this isn’t gonna be nice.” The horses moved along as fast as they could, before a huge fortress came into view, “There it is.” Charles said as Rose hopped down from her horse, leaving her as far away as she could.

Charles walked over to her, seeing how she looked. He placed his hand on her shoulder, catching her attention. “If you trust me, then there should be nothing to worry about.” He pulled out a bow and handed it to her, “You good with that?”

She shook her head, “When I need to be...” her gaze went down to the bow as she wrapped it around her.

“Alright. You ready?”

She looked up over at the building, taking a deep breath, “Yes.”

Charles bent down low, “Keep down and follow me.”

Her feet were light on the ground as they both headed towards the building, keeping down and quiet. She could see a few of the men guarding the place. “Patrol group...” Charles whispered as she hurried over beside him. They both watched as the patrol headed out around the building and out of sight. “Hopefully we’ll be in and out before they can come back around.”

“Hopefully--” she whispered and followed Charles along till they reached a rock and hid behind it.

“There’s two guards out front.” He turned and looked at her, “if you take one, I’ll take the other.” The two guards stood there chatting away, unaware of what was going to happen as the sound of two arrows went whizzing through the air and into their necks. “Okay. Let’s see if we can get around the back. Stay close to the wall.” Rose moved quick, quietly, keeping as close as she could, Charles attention grabbed hers as he spoke, “careful, there’s a guard up there.” As they went forward, a light peeked over the edge of the wall, Rose pressed her back close to it, hoping the guard wouldn’t see them.

“Fuck--” she whispered.

After a few moments, the guard disappeared. “He’s moving, come on.”

“Where is this entrance?”

“Hold on--” Charles grabbed onto her, as two guards came into his view, “Two more—one in the tower, one on the ground. Same as before, you take one, I got the other.”

She stood up from behind the rock, pulling the bow back and aiming at the guard in the tower. Her breathing light as she let go, the arrow whizzing through the air before hitting him in the neck. Both the light and the guard fell out of the tower and onto the ground, unmoving.

“Good, just a bit further on here.” there wasn’t much to go as she rounded the corner with Charles, “this is the spot.” he pulled out the rope and threw the hook up and onto the logs. Rose looked around, her mind racing as she climbed up the rope, following Charles. After getting over, she went and hid down behind some barrels, Charles doing the same. She looked seeing a guard, making his way towards them. “Guard up ahead...have you got a shot on him?”

Rose nodded her head to acknowledge him and it was risky to stand up to make the shot, but she did. The body hit hard against the wooden boards, how was it that no one could hear them?

“Good, let’s move.” they reached the one tower, Charles stopped and peeked through. Rose went on in and stood near the doorframe and saw a guard up ahead. Her hand went down to her knife as she snuck across the boards and behind him. The knife slipped into the man’s neck with no trouble, a small groan sounded from him before silence took over. That small pain she had felt earlier was beginning to grow, her teeth gritted as she moved foward, trying to ignore it. They came to a few more guards, taking the two of them down, they moved towards the next tower. Rose crouched near the opening, holding onto her knife tightly. Charles looked over at her, he was concerned, mostly because she couldn’t turn back now. “Rose—you alright--”

Her breathing was ragged, “I—I’m fine, Charles...j-just focus.”

“Then stay back, while I check the tower.” But she wasn’t fine. There was a pain in her that was making it very hard to not cry, to not yell out. If they died here...it would be her fault and she didn’t want that for Charles or for Eagle Flies. He looked around, making sure no one was there and motioned Rose to move with him. There was another guard standing alone and out in the open. She went to pull out her knife when Charles, grabbed his. “I’ve got this--”

“No--” she breathed out, anything to keep her mind off the pain, “I got it.” Her feet moved painfully slow as she neared the man, stabbing her knife swiftly into his neck. The man’s body fell down onto the ground, she looked, making sure no one saw them.   
  
“The cells should be just down this way.” Rose hurried down the stairs with Charles not far behind her as they reached the ground and hid behind some boxes. He peeked his head out, “Damn it, there’s more out front.” he looked up at the tower, “do you see that lantern?”

“Yea--”

“Go up into the tower and see if you can cause a distraction. If you shoot it, that should be enough.”

There was no time to argue as she hurried away from him and climbed up the ladder into the one tower. As she reached the top a guard came into view, her hand went onto her knife as moved out of the tower and onto the bridge. The wooden boards creaked slightly as she snuck up behind him, taking him out silently, the smell of blood invaded her senses as she wiped the blade off. Her attention turned to the lantern in hanging, as she pulled her bow out and took a shot. A huge explosion echoed into the night as Rose let out a small cry of pain.

“Rose! Get down here!” she ran down the stairs and headed over to Charles standing near the side of the building, “Quickly, the cells are just in here.” He busted in the door, killing the guard where he stood. Rose shut the door quickly, keeping the two of them out of sight.

“Rose Reeds? Charles? Is that you? Look for the keys...you have to get me out of here.”

“That’s the plan.” she laughed for a moment, and took a look around, “though--” she looked over at Charles, “that’s a whole lotta ‘em out there now. Can we even get out?”

“Just look for the keys, Rose.”

She bent down and checked the body on the ground, rummaging through the pocket, before finally finding the damn things, “found ‘em.” she hurried over to the door and unlocked it, “C’mon--” she said and cut Eagle Flies arms down from being tied up, “Your father sent us.” Rose bent down and helped him up.

“My Father, he told you to come and kill guards?”

“No—no—no. He didn’t...” She pulled him up from the ground, helping him stand.

“Of course not.”

She looked at the cuts and bruises on his face, “Ya okay?”

“Sure... I enjoy being tortured, clears the mind.”

She sighed and shook her head, “Well ain’t ya funny--” The sound of blaring horns echoed throughout the building, they knew someone was here. Charles and Rose pushed through the door as she went and hid, pulling out her pistol. She looked over at Charles, “So much for no guns...”

The guards began to shoot and shout, there was going to be no other way out for them...except to kill the lot of them. Rose came out from behind cover, taking a few shots and taking a few of them down. Throughout the echoing sounds of bullets and screaming, the thought of what would happen next to Rains Fall and his people, sat with her and in the end...there would never be real justice. A few bullets whizzed past her, pulling her from her thoughts. A few bullets grazed along her skin as she moved with Charles, trying to get the hell outta there. There seemed to be an endless supply of these men, hiding up in the towers, more coming through the damn doors. Once her bullets had run dry for her pistol, she moved to the rifle, shooting and running as she went. Eagle Flies and Charles not too far behind.

“Come this way--” Eagle Flies said, motioning them to follow him, “I remember seeing a hole in one of the walls when they brought me in.” they hurried around the corner, only to find nothing, “damn, it’s been sealed up.”

“So what do we do?” Rose looked around, unsure and scared.

“What about that cannon?” Charles said. Rose looked and hurried over to it and lifted it, moving it to the sealed area. Her body felt like giving up, but when there were so close to being out... “Done--” she yelled out and lit the damn thing as it shot through the wood, breaking it wide open. The three of them hurried out of the fortress, Rose whistling loud as her horse came galloping up the hill. Charles helped up Eagle Flies on his horse.

“Let’s go quick—I’ve got some canoes set up at the river down here.”

Rose mounted her horse and pulled out her rifle, shooting a few men that rounded the corner, “GO!” she yelled at Charles, “I—I’ll be right behind ya--” He looked hesitant to go, but left fast with Eagle Flies as they went towards the river. She kept her gun close and turned her horse, galloping after the two of them. Quite a few men headed out on their horses, chasing after them. “Shit—Got more of them comin’---” she turned and aimed the rifle, shooting at a few of them.

“There’s more coming up the road on the left!”

The lanterns glowed bright as they chased after them, she shot a few of them down from their horses. The chase went all the way down to the river side, she screamed out as a bullet lodged into her arm and fell off her horse.

“Rose!” Charles yelled out, stopping his horse.

The last feller came trotting towards her and hopped off his horse. There was a smile on the man’s face as he bent down, “Now—“ he breathed out, laughing for a moment, “now you die--”

Her fingers gripped tightly onto the knife’s handle as she looked up at the man, her foot sweeping under and knocking him down. Quickly she straddled and shoved the knife hard and fast into his chest several times.

“Rose!” Charles yelled at her, pulling her attention away. Her gaze went down to the lifeless body under her and slowly she stood up, staring at him for a moment. The sound of more galloping and men caught echoed through the skies as she ran over to Charles, “Hold them off. I’ll get Eagle Flies to the canoes!”

The adrenaline from stabbing that man, made whatever pain she was feeling, disappear. The rifle was tight in her hands as she watched and aimed, seeing them come down the hill. A lot of them went down easy, while some others stood strong. There wasn’t much left of her bullets, and wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep this up.

“Quick, get in the other canoe and let’s go, Rose.”

There was no need to argue with him, she ran over and grabbed onto the canoe, pushing it into the water and hopping in.

“Let’s get down river as quick as we can.”

The rivers currant pulled the canoes along, pulling them away from danger. Eagle Flies spoke as they went, “They’ll pay for this. They’ll wish they killed me when they had a chance.”

Rose shook her head at the comment, as if he needed to do more. She paddled hard and as fast as she could, there would be more men coming...how many more she didn’t know.

“Let’s just get you to safety first, my friend.”

“It’s like Dutch said, they only have power when you allow them to have it.”

The horns blaring echoed with each mile that they took down the river. More men showed up throughout the hills and she shot with everything she had. Bullets hit against the canoes. Just grazing her and Charles, “They’re everywhere!” she yelled out.

“They won’t give up easily.”

“And I’m runnin’ out of bullets!” her pistol had been empty for a bit and the rifle had only a few shots left. Her hand went into her satchel as she rummaged through it, finding a few sticks of dynamite. She grabbed one and lit it up, whipping it to the side where a couple of men stood. A loud explosion echoed throughout the air.

“What are you doing!” Charles yelled out.

“I’m--Improvisin’!” she yelled back. They went along, finally losing sight of the men, only the sound of the river echoed in her head, and some slight ringing from the explosions.

“Let’s see if we can find somewhere ahead to pull in.” there was silence for a moment, before he yelled out, “ah no! I was wrong, two more on the left—And don’t kill their horses...we can use them to ride out of here.”

With the last of her bullets, her gun sounded off as both the men fell off their horses, dead. They both went over to the side, the canoes stopping to a halt as she got out. Charles helped Eagle Flies out and over to a rock to sit down on. Rose walked over and looked at the two of them, breathing through the wound in her arm. “I reckon we lost ‘em. Better—go--” she breathed out harshly, feeling the pain rush to her senses.

“You alright, Rose?” Eagle Flies asked.

“I’ll be damn better-- when this shit—is--” she sighed and walked over to him, “how are ya?”

“I’ll be fine in a day or so. I heal fast. Colonel Favours won’t be too happy with your rescue.”

A bubble of laughter escaped her mouth, “Ya think?”

“Yeah, there’s gonna be a lot more trouble. My father...even he may have to fight.”

She turned and looked at him, “There ain’t no winnin’ this big fight with ‘em. Why not the lot of y’all...run away?”

“Where would we go?”

That was the very question she had asked herself, when she was gonna leave and never come back. There was no where for her... but maybe there would be somewhere for Rains Fall people. “I wish I had an answer...”

Charles walked over to Eagle Flies and helped him up, “Hey friend...let me take you back to your father.”

He turned to look at Rose and Charles, “Thank you.”

“No problem.” she said.

Charles helped him up and walked over to Rose, “You sure you’re alright?”

“I—I’ll be fine, Charles...” she breathed out, her hand resting on the wound in her arm, “Take him home.”

He nodded his head, not wanting to argue and climbed up onto the horse before galloping off into the distance. The sound of them leaving echoed for a few seconds, but then it went to silence as she sat there on the rock and waited. Waited for them to be far enough away from her before all the pain that she felt came out. Rose screamed into the night sky, her voice loud and gruelling as tears streamed down, her voice cracking as she sobbed out. “I—I can’t--” she huffed out through her tears, “I—can’t—Hosea, what—do I do?” She knew she had to go on, there were still the others and Arthur... he hadn’t gone yet and Dutch...The thought of him made her heart hurt, he wasn’t the same anymore. And he was never going to be... How was this all going to end for them? There wasn’t much time left, there wasn’t much time left for any of them. “Fuck...” she whispered and wiped the tears away from her eyes. After a while of sitting there, she finally pulled herself up and walked over to the horse before mounting it and heading onward back to camp.

  
“ _It’s okay, Dutch...” her fingers reached out as she ran them lightly against his lips, “It’s—okay—“ she breathed out._

_They stood there together, the sound of the camp fire crackled loud in both their ears. Dutch looked at her,”So what now?” he whispered._

_She closed her eyes for a moment before she leaned forward and rested her head against his chest. The sound of his heart was beat fast against her ear. “Guess we...dance our troubles away--”_

_He responded as his hands let go of hers and wrapped tightly around her body and pulled her close. Her hands wrapped around his back and felt the warmth beneath her fingers. They didn’t say anything after that and only the sounds of the camp lingered as they stood together under the moonlight._


End file.
